For over a hundred years, the League of Women Voters of Texas, along with our national and local Leagues (collectively, the “League”), has made voting and voting rights our priority and our mission. The League is a non-partisan, grassroots group that believes our democracy is strongest when everyone can participate and make their voice heard. By empowering voters with information and opportunities to register, the League ensures everyone gets an equal say in our elections.
In 2013, the US Supreme Court removed key protections of the Voting Rights Act. Since then, a surge of anti-voter bills has swept across our nation, with many being legalized.
Federal courts have ruled against several of these dangerous provisions, while others are still pending. With elections coming up in two months, the League is clarifying some of the confusion that exists around current provisions so voters will not be confused.
While the constitution is clear that voting is a responsibility given to the states to conduct, the federal government appears to be aggressively usurping the state’s responsibility to conduct elections.
The League of Women Voters of Texas is very concerned that pending pieces of national legislation represent a barrier to voting. As part of our mission to ensure the public understands major public policy issues, and our commitment to voting rights, we are drawing attention to these bills and their impact.
These bills threaten our voting rights, and some would require voters to present documentary proof of citizenship I.e. birth certificate, etc., to register and/or cast a vote. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which passed the House in 2025, requires citizenship documentation to register to vote, and, more recently, the SAVE America Act and the Make Elections Great Again Act, require citizenship documentation to cast a ballot, and for absentee ballots to be received by election day,
The SAVE America Act was recently attached to the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House and sent to the Senate, where it has not yet been acted upon. These bills require burdensome and unnecessary steps for US citizens to vote, straining state election administrators across the country and perpetuating the false narrative that there is widespread election fraud in the US, thereby sowing mistrust in our election systems.
Any of these bills could potentially be considered before the upcoming elections on November 3rd, causing untold chaos and confusion in elections around the country. These bills simply create another barrier to voting.
It is already illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. In Texas, citizens must provide their social security number and driver’s license number, while other information sources are accepted for the minority who do not have them.
Elections officials across the country already have rules and processes in place to prove the identity of a voter without instituting a strict ID proposal, or limiting the IDs required to participate in the election process.
Requiring proof of citizenship is unnecessary and unfairly impacts various segments of our society like military voters who move frequently, families hit by natural disasters who lost important documentation, and married women and other Americans who have changed their names and would be required to secure updated documentation to register to vote.
Compared to white US citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship, or face difficulties accessing them. Voter suppression is any attempt to prevent or discourage certain Americans from registering to vote or casting their ballot.
Realistically speaking, how many voters know where their birth certificates are located, and how many have them in safe places for security purposes? Why should Americans be expected to carry sensitive, protected documents with them to vote? Most citizens already show government issued documentation with a picture ID when they vote by submitting their driver’s licenses. Requiring a strict list of IDs to vote in federal elections is a blatant attempt to silence and divide our nation.
As we work to expand voter access, the League also empowers voters through VOTE411.org, a nonpartisan, “one-stop-shop for all election information needed to cast a ballot in every election. From registration to voting rules and voter candidate guides, this website is your guide to making your voice heard in every election. We encourage everyone who can, to vote early!
Voting is how we protect our freedom and hold our leaders accountable. The League will continue to vigorously defend the fundamental right to vote and protect the integrity of our elections on the front lines, advocating in state houses and in Congress, fighting anti-voter laws in court, and organizing activists to make their voices heard.
Tae Mi Lee,
President, League of Women Voters of Texas