Ranking Member Morelle’s Floor Remarks Opposing the SAVE Act

WASHINGTON – Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25), the top Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, delivered a floor speech in opposition to H.R. 22, the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act. The following remarks were prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Together with President Trump’s recent voting-restrictive executive order, the SAVE Act would cripple American elections.  It would end voter registration in the United States as we know it.

The SAVE Act would end mail-in registration. You heard that right—not vote by mail—registration by mail. 

American citizens would have to appear in person at an election office—bringing with them various documents and forms—to register to vote.

Think about it—just to exercise your fundamental, inalienable rights as a citizen of this country, Republicans would force Americans into a paperwork nightmare, burying voter registration under a mountain of bureaucracy and red tape.

So, what exactly would the SAVE Act do? It would create enormous burdens for every American citizenregistering to vote.

Let’s dig into the details.

As my Republican colleague and friend admitted at the Rules Committee, under the SAVE Act, most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their REAL ID.

Further, under the SAVE Act, almost 70 million American women will be unable to register to vote using their birth certificate, simply because they changed their name upon marriage. 

This bill would also disenfranchise survivors of domestic abuse who have changed their names for safety.

Which is truly shocking.

And the SAVE Act will also have a steep financial cost to American citizens.

Because, yes, the SAVE Act does allow Americans to use their passports to register to vote.

But half of Americans do not have a passport.

And passports cost $130, plus additional fees.

So, the SAVE Act will cost American voters who do not have passports billions of dollars.

Americans are facing rising costs—exacerbated by the recent Trump tariffs. Economists are warning about a looming Trump recession.

But—let’s face it—the SAVE Act would force U.S. citizens to spend billions of dollars simply to register to vote.

This includes rural voters, many of whom now register to vote online or by mail, who will be forced to drive hours and cross hundreds of miles to present documentary proof.

This includes seniors, who are particularly likely to lack documentary proof of citizenship—including passports, copies of their birth certificates or other documents.

And what about the men and women in uniform who serve our country all over the world?

Can a member of our military use their military ID?  Surely military IDs will be enough to register to vote?

Not according to the SAVE Act. 

Service members will need to bring their military ID and a copy of their service record showing their place of birth within the United States.

But many servicemembers were born abroad, say, to military parents overseas.  Many are naturalized citizens. 

Those service members will be blocked from using their military ID to register.

And remember the SAVE Act’s requirement that Americans to show their documentation in person at an election office?

It will have drastic consequences—the SAVE Act will prevent members of our armed forces from registering to vote while deployed abroad.

But the SAVE Act is not actually meant to prevent noncitizens from voting.

The SAVE Act is really about silencing Americans. This bill is about disenfranchising Americans.

Not noncitizens. Americans.

Americans like James Wilson, an Arizona voter who was meant to join us from the gallery last week—who flew all the way to Washington D.C. to watch Congress debate the SAVE Act.  Who was forced to fly home after the Speaker canceled three days of legislative work.

Mr. Wilson is an American citizen, born in Japan to a military father during the Vietnam War.  Mr. Wilson is also a veteran—he proudly served our nation overseas, including in Korea and Germany.

Like millions of Americans, Mr. Wilson does not have a passport because he does not need a passport. 

Like millions of Americans, Mr. Wilson does not have access to his birth certificate.

When Arizona introduced a restrictive voter registration law—a law just like the SAVE Act—Mr. Wilson’s right to vote was imperiled.  Mr. Wilson did not have any of the documents required by the Arizona law—required by the SAVE Act—to prove his citizenship. 

But for a last-minute emergency court order, Mr. Wilson—an American citizen and a veteran—would not have been able to vote this past election.

If the SAVE Act becomes law, Americans nationwide will face the same bureaucratic nightmare that Mr. Wilson faced in Arizona.

The SAVE Act will force Americans, like Mr. Wilson, to pay billions of dollars to exercise their inviolable right to vote.

House Republicans want to increase the burdens and amplify the costs—in time, money, and effort—for American citizens to vote.

House Democrats do not.

The SAVE Act would cost American citizens something deeply important—something essential to the soul of this nation—the right to freely and fairly participate in our elections.

I strongly urge the defeat of this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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 The Committee on House Administration’s jurisdiction includes federal elections, House operations, Capitol Complex security, the Smithsonian Institution, and Legislative Branch agencies such as the Library of Congress and Government Publishing Office.