I sent this message about the voter suppression bill called the SAVE Act to my representative and both senators.
February 20, 2025
Dear Representative Huizenga,
As a constituent, I’m writing to urge you to vote NO on H.R. 22, the SAVE Act.
This bill won’t make elections more secure. It is a blatant attempt to create barriers that will suppress voting. The SAVE Act would require every voter to present in-person proof of citizenship to register or update their registration to vote. But millions of Americans, especially seniors, military members, tribal citizens, working-class Americans, and married women who’ve changed their last name, don’t have easy access to these documents. That means many citizens who have the right to vote would be blocked from the polls. It would further have the affect of eliminating online and mail in voter registration, making it more difficult to participate in our democracy.
There are already strict federal and state laws preventing anyone who’s not a citizen from voting in federal elections, and states have secure systems in place to verify voter eligibility. The SAVE Act is completely unnecessary – it does nothing to enhance election security and only serves as a deliberate attempt to suppress votes.
I urge you to vote NO on the SAVE Act and any other bills that would disenfranchise Americans.
Sincerely,
Rev. Kenneth Arthur
Here is Rep. Huizenga’s same-day response:
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. I always appreciate hearing from constituents and welcome this opportunity to respond.
The SAVE Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), would require states to obtain proof of citizenship when registering an individual to vote in a federal election and remove all non-citizens from existing voter rolls. While it is true that only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections, the National Voter Registration Act has made it difficult for states to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Furthermore, the legislation directs states to accommodate individuals who do not have documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as disabled Americans or those with discrepancies in their documents due to name changes.
Our nation was founded upon the ideals of free and fair elections. As your representative in Congress, I am committed to ensuring that each election is free, fair, safe, and legitimate. Only American citizens should vote in our elections. I voted in favor of this legislation when it passed the House in the 118th Congress. Should this legislation come up for a vote in the 119th Congress, I will keep your thoughts in mind.
Again, I appreciate you contacting me, and please do not hesitate to do so in the future. To stay up to date with the latest news on our work in Congress, you may sign up at huizenga.house.gov/forms/emailsignup to receive my e-newsletter.
Sincerely,
Bill Huizenga
Member of Congress
This is the response from Senator Slotkin, received April 17, 2025:
Dear Mr. Arthur,
Thank you for contacting my office to share your thoughts on voting rights and our elections. I’ve been setting up our D.C. and Michigan offices, so I apologize for the delayed response to your message. As your new Senator as of January 2025, I appreciate hearing from you.
As you may know, S. 128, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate on January 16, 2025, and an identical version, H.R. 22, just recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives on April 10, 2025. The bill requires individuals to provide additional documentation proving their citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. While I strongly believe that securing our elections is among the most basic responsibilities we have as a government, I have many concerns over the contents of this bill, which is why I voted against its passage in 2024, when I was still in the House
First, to start with the facts: it’s already a violation of federal law for non-citizens to vote in U.S. federal elections, and this bill would not change that law. What this bill will do is prevent Michiganders from using their drivers license or other state-provided identification to register to vote. It would also prohibit servicemembers from using their military ID as a means to register. Additionally, the bill would override a Michigan automatic voter registration law which was approved by Michigan voters in a 2-to-1 margin in 2022.
This legislation requires citizens without a passport to provide other forms of documentation, like a birth certificate, alongside their driver’s license. Nearly 60% of Michiganders don’t have a passport. And for 80% of married women, their last names differ from their birth certificate and across documentation, causing even greater challenges when attempting to register to vote.
The SAVE Act is not the only effort the new Administration is doing to make voting harder. In March, President Trump issued an executive order requiring specific types of proof of citizenship to register to vote, which many people do not have. The order also gives Elon Musk access to states’ voting records and even more of your sensitive data. And states that push back against this executive order will have funding for election security withheld, undermining our free and fair elections. Nineteen states, including the State of Michigan, have filed a lawsuit in the courts against this executive order, and it is currently being heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
This is not a partisan issue: both parties should stand up for our democracy and our free and fair elections – our Founding Fathers risked everything for it and our parents and grandparents fought to protect it. We must do the same. But the SAVE Act is not the way to do it. When the House bill comes up for a vote in the Senate, I will not vote for it.
Once again, sincere thanks for reaching out. I believe that engaging your elected officials is a critical component of our democracy and allows us to better represent you, so thank you for taking the time to get in touch.
Last thing: if you want to keep up with my work for Michigan in the U.S. Senate, you can visit my website at https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/services/newsletter/ and sign up for my newsletter, which is the single best way to stay in touch. You can also find regular updates on social media by following me on Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky, or Instagram. Please do not hesitate to contact me for this or any other matter of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Elissa Slotkin
U.S. Senator for Michigan