STOP the SAVE America Act

Protect Voting Rights and Defend Latino Civic Participation

LULAC Resource Guide: STOP the SAVE America Act // SAVE 2.0

Overview of the SAVE America Act

The SAVE America Act is scheduled for a Senate vote the week of March 16. Please join us in driving calls and emails to Senate offices and increasing pressure across social media and community networks.

The Senate vote could directly affect millions of eligible voters, especially Latino families, naturalized citizens, working class communities, and households already facing barriers to documentation and civic participation.

LULAC’s Stance

Voting is not simply participation. It is representation. It is dignity. It is equal voice.

No eligible citizen should be denied participation because paperwork is harder to obtain, names do not perfectly match, or systems fail to recognize how families actually live.

The SAVE America Act threatens to silence lawful voters under the guise of election administration.

We must act now.

VOTE NO

Background

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE America Act, passed the House and has now been reintroduced under new names, including the MEGA Act and the Save Act, while keeping the same core restrictions.

If enacted, it would require voters to present proof of citizenship, such as a passport or original birth certificate, when registering to vote or updating voter registration.

That could create new hurdles for millions of eligible Americans who do not have these documents readily available, cannot easily replace them, or face extra time and cost to obtain them.

For Latino communities, some of the most common barriers include:

many families do not have passports because of cost
original birth certificates may not be immediately available
dual surnames and naming inconsistencies are common
married women often face document mismatch issues
naturalized citizens may face added confusion or scrutiny despite full legal eligibility

These challenges would not affect all communities equally. This legislation would especially burden:

Latino voters
naturalized citizens
military voters
tribal communities
rural communities
survivors of natural disasters
married women whose names have changed
first time young voters

For many Latino families, voting represents civil rights progress won through generations of struggle. Requiring additional paperwork risks turning a constitutional right into an administrative barrier.

SAVE 2.0 Bills

House Republicans have relaunched the SAVE America Act through new versions of the legislation, including:

Although the names have changed, the core impact remains the same: placing new barriers in front of eligible voters.

At the same time, state level copycat bills are spreading quickly across the country and threatening voter access at the local level as well.

Why Latino Communities Are Especially at Risk

Latino households often face documentation challenges that are rarely reflected in broad voter policy debates.

This includes:

multigenerational name differences
records issued from multiple jurisdictions
Spanish dominant households navigating English only systems
naturalization paperwork concerns
families displaced by hurricanes, migration, or economic hardship

For Puerto Rican families, document recovery after natural disasters has already created real challenges in civic participation.

For naturalized citizens, added documentation requirements can create confusion even when citizenship status is fully lawful and documented.

Civil Rights Context

Organizations such as the League of United Latin American Citizens have long fought to ensure Latino communities are fully included in democratic participation.

The SAVE America Act risks continuing a long pattern in which communities of color face greater burdens when exercising constitutional rights.

What You Can Do

Join Rapid Mobilization

Fill out the coalition support form and help mobilize communities to oppose the SAVE America Act, increase public awareness, and protect voter access.

Call to Action and Resources

Call Your Senators

Senators: Use our coalition call-in line (833-346-1779) to encourage your members to contact their senators and ask them to vote no on the SAVE America Act.
Coalition call in line: 833 346 1779

Email Your Senator

Tell your Senator to VOTE NO ON SAVE!

LULAC Messaging Guide

Letters to the Editor

write a letter to the editor, highlighting the agenda that threatens our freedom to vote and incorporating key points and your own words, stories, and ideas to make it as strong as possible.

Draft Local Sign On Letter

Get your members and partner organizations to sign a local sign-on letter telling your congressmen to vote no on the SAVE America Act.

SAVE Messaging FAQ

Outreach Resources

Latino Focused Social Media Messaging

Federal Caption

Congress is back in session and our freedom to vote is on the line.

The SAVE America Act would create new barriers for millions of eligible voters, especially Latino families, naturalized citizens, and working communities.

Tell the Senate to vote NO on the SAVE America Act.

#ProtectLatinoVote
#StopTheSAVEAmericaAct
#LatinoVote
#VotingRights
#Democracy

State Caption

Across the country, state legislatures are advancing copycat bills modeled after the SAVE America Act.

These measures would create new barriers for Latino voters and communities already facing documentation challenges.

Voting is our power and our voice.

#ProtectLatinoVote

#StopTheSAVEAmericaAct

#OurVoteOurVoice

Email Templates

Draft Outreach Email to Members

Subject: Protect Latino Voters: Tell the Senate to Stop the SAVE America Act

Dear (Name),

We need your help to stop the dangerous SAVE America Act from passing in the U.S. Senate.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed the anti-voter SAVE America Act—a bill that would make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to register and vote. Measures like this risk creating new barriers that could disproportionately affect Latino voters and other communities that already face obstacles in accessing the ballot.

To stop this bill, we need to raise our voices and show strong opposition. Contact your Senators today and urge them to vote NO on the SAVE America Act.

If enacted, the SAVE America Act would require every American citizen to provide either a passport or an original copy of their birth certificate when registering to vote and whenever they update their voter registration. Do you know where your original birth certificate is right now?

For millions of Americans, the answer is no. In fact, roughly 21 million U.S. citizens do not have these documents readily available.

This requirement could place significant burdens on many voters, including Latino families, military voters, tribal communities, rural voters, survivors of natural disasters, and married women who have changed their last names.

Voting is a fundamental right, and our democracy works best when every eligible voter can participate.

That’s why we must act now. Email your Senators today and tell them to vote NO on the SAVE America Act.

Thank you for standing up for our communities and for protecting the right to vote.

Best,

State Draft Outreach Email

Dear [First Name],

A dangerous anti-voter bill, modeled after Donald Trump's unlawful Executive Order on voting, is now making its way through the [State Legislature], and we need your voice to stop it.

This state-level bill is designed to make it harder, if not impossible, for eligible voters in [State] to register and vote. It would force people to show extremely specific documents, like an original birth certificate or a passport, in person, just to register or update their voter registration.

That’s not security; that’s voter suppression.

Here’s what’s at stake:

Everyone’s right to vote, but especially working families, married women, rural voters, and communities of color
It could end online and mail-in registration in our state
It would undermine decades of progress made to expand access to the ballot box

Let’s be clear: It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in our elections. This bill is a solution in search of a problem, and it’s built on lies.

We can’t let extremists take away our freedom to vote under the false guise of “election integrity.”

Take Action Now: Tell your lawmakers: Vote NO on the SAVE America Act in [STATE] and protect the right to vote for all eligible citizens.

Together, we can stop this attack on our democracy before it becomes law.

In solidarity,

Additional Research Resources

Resources

Call to Action, Community Engagement Letter Template