McCollum Votes No on the Save America Act

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to S. 1383, the so-called SAVE America Act. This is yet another attempt from Republicans to nationalize elections and take power away from local communities. I already voted against an earlier version of this bill and will continue to oppose it whenever it comes to the floor. 

This new version of the SAVE America Act is even more extreme. It would force every state to hand over their voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security, so that Kristi Noem can purge voters at will. Just weeks ago, Attorney General Bondi attempted to blackmail the state of Minnesota with a similar proposition—hand over the voter rolls and the ICE surge would end. Now, Republicans in the House are aiming for the same federal seizure of local voter rolls in every state of our nation. 

This bill would also disenfranchise millions of women and other Americans through a federal takeover of state election administration. One out of four Americans—69 million women—would have to navigate barriers that should not be necessary to vote because they changed their last name after marriage. Republicans claim that this new version will “fix” this problem by adding in a provision about affidavits to prove identity. However, the bill remains vague, leaving the process up to the states. Regardless, millions of women would face additional burdensome steps to register to vote. 

I want to be clear; this bill is not simply a voter ID bill and labelling it as such is a trick to convince Americans of its intent. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. Now, Republicans want to force every American to provide burdensome and expensive “documentary proof of citizenship”–similar to what Minnesotans already rejected—in order to exercise their right to vote.

Congress should be following Minnesota’s lead and working to make it easier for Americans to vote, not putting up roadblocks. Congress should pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that would reinstate many of the protections in the Civil Rights Act of 1965 that were undercut by the Supreme Court in their Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013. The bill would expand automatic voter registration and allows for same day voter registration and protects against race-based discrimination at the ballot box. Democrats passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act through the House in 2021, but it was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House Republican majority in this Congress has continued to refuse to bring the bill back to the House Floor for a vote.

I yield back.