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Asheville Citizen Times March 26, 2025; Letter to Editor

SAVE Act will make it harder for people to vote

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act will make it harder to vote for many people. Under this law, every American citizen would have to show specific documents (passport or an original birth certificate) in person when registering to vote or updating their voter registration.

In Western North Carolina many voters have been impacted by Helene. They may have lost important documentation and would be required to jump through hoops to replace these documents to register to vote while going through the traumatic process of rebuilding their lives.

Military voters would be required to present documentation every time they re-register to vote when their family moves. Military service members would not be able to use their military ID alone to prove citizenship; they would need additional documentation to show their birthplace or naturalization status.

Many married women likely changed their last name. They, along with other Americans who have changed their last name, would be required to secure updated documentation to register to vote. Surveys show that eight in 10 married women have changed their surname, meaning they do not possess a birth certificate that matches their current legal name and could not present it as valid proof of citizenship. There are an estimated 69 million American women who lack the paperwork that reflects their current name.

Under current U.S. law, it is illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. We do not need the SAVE Act. Tell your Representative and Senator to vote no.

Suzanne Fisher, President – League of Women Voters Asheville, Buncombe County

Don’t let Congress make voting harder!

The House and Senate introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote despite the fact that voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.

It’s already illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. Additionally, we have processes to ensure our elections are secure and that only eligible voters are casting ballots. State election officials have systems to verify an individual voter’s eligibility and ensure voter rolls are accurate.

The bill’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary and seeks to divide us. Further, it creates one more barrier to the voting process, as many eligible voters do not have easy access to the necessary documents. 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. For example, while approximately half of all American adults possess a passport, two-thirds of Black Americans do not.

Legislation like the SAVE Act is another in a long list of tactics, like strict voter photo ID requirements and limitations on voter assistance in languages other than English, which seek to make it more difficult for voters of color and naturalized citizens to vote. Americans do not need MORE obstacles to vote.

Congress must act to ensure that every eligible US citizen has the freedom to vote unimpeded by discriminatory rules rooted in fear and division.

Click here to tell your members of Congress to vote NO on the Save Act

The League of Women Voters of the United States issued the following statement on March 26, 2025, in response to President Donald Trump’s signed executive order, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” that threatens Americans’ freedom to vote and tramples states’ constitutional authority to run their own elections.

“Let’s keep it real: this order is not about protecting elections; it is about making it harder for voters — particularly women voters — to participate in them,” said Celina Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “This executive order is an assault on our republic and a dangerous attempt to silence American voters. The President continues to overstep his authority and brazenly disregard settled law in this country. To be very clear — the League of Women Voters is prepared to fight back and defend our democracy.

“The President can’t unilaterally change election law,” said Marcia Johnson, Chief Counsel for the League of the Women Voters of the United States. “This order is not only an attack on American voters’ fundamental freedom to vote, it is also plainly unlawful. The League is committed to working with our partners and legal advocates to pursue all avenues in fighting back against this dangerous order, and we will use every tool at our disposal to defend voters from unjust restrictions on their freedom to vote.”

The order’s extreme provisions include:

Impermissibly requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote by altering the federal voter registration form. Nearly 80% of married women — more than 69 million American women — adopt their partner’s surname, and they would be unable to register to vote if the name on their ID does not directly match their proof of citizenship. Additionally, noncitizens registering to vote and then casting a ballot is already illegal in federal elections, and there is no evidence to suggest that noncitizen voter registration and voting is occurring at any meaningful scale.
Prohibiting the counting of absentee and mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after, which 18 states and Washington DC currently permit.
Giving the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) the authority to review states’ voter rolls.
Withholding federal funds from states that do not cooperate with the order’s provisions.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization with expertise in voting and elections. Our mission is to empower voters and defend democracy. For more than a century we have stood in the gap when government falls short of its duty. We will valiantly work to protect voters and free, fair, accessible elections.

Photo: WLOS

Photo: Tiana Kennell/Asheville Citizen Times

Hundreds gathered at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville for a Unite and Resist Rally on International Women’s Day.

The 2025 theme, “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,” “calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind,” according to the United Nations.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, volunteer-based, political organization consisting of women and men passionate about our democracy. Born out of the national women’s suffrage movement in 1920, the League continues to work to serve the needs of the voting public and protect the rights of all voters.

Our efforts are two-fold:
Voters Service, Citizen Education – presenting unbiased, nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process and current issues.

Action, Advocacy – following education on the issue(s), action is taken towards enacting policies in the public interest and striking down policies harmful to society.

A just society is derived from a democracy consisting of an engaged and educated public that has faith in the political process.

The League of Women Voters is a membership organization encouraging action and advocacy as a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation. To conduct our voter service and citizen education activities, funds are derived from the Florence Ryan Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to building citizen participation in democratic process, studying key community issues at all government levels in an unbiased manner, and enabling people to seek positive solutions to public policy issues through education and conflict management.

The League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County currently offers meetings and events for members as well as educational programs for the public. Quarterly member events include two meetings each year, a Holiday Social in winter and an Annual Luncheon & Meeting in May or June. League action teams and committees also hold regular meetings for the members involved in those groups.

Join us! Check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. And check out our YouTube Channel for past meetings and voting issues we’re involved with. Our Calendar page has upcoming events.

Connect with your State League: North Carolina League of Women Voters
Connect with the National League: National League of Women Voters

Our chapter is centered around Buncombe County and includes several adjoining counties. This is the homeland of the Cherokee and other nations. We recognize the sovereignty and traditional territories of these local tribal nations, the treaties used to remove them, and the histories of dispossession. We honor and respect the many diverse indigenous people who came before us, who are still here, and who are connected to the land on which we reside.