You may have heard about a new voter registration act called the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) America Act. What is it, what would it change, and what evidence do we have that change is needed?

In Pennsylvania, there are currently three requirements to register to vote.

You must be a United States citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of Pennsylvania and the election district in which you want to vote.

If your address or name changes, or if you wish to change your party, you can update your registration by mail or in person. You must show ID the first time you vote in any particular district.

The SAVE America Act stiffens the requirements to register for the first time and to change your registration. Specifically, it would require an original birth certificate with raised seal, showing gender and birth name (copy cost $20+), plus a photo ID such as a passport (new passport cost $165+).

In-person registration, during business hours, would be mandated. Only IDs that specify citizenship would be accepted, which means that in PA, a driver’s license or photo (Real) ID, student ID, and many military IDs will not qualify. If your name has changed since birth, (for example, taking your husband’s last name) you will need original documents showing the change of name when you update your registration. You will need to show photo ID each time you vote.

Based on Pennsylvania court system data on election crimes charged between July 2015 and July 2025, and additional reports identified by the Heritage Foundation, law enforcement or election officials say 149 fraudulent ballots were submitted over those 10 years.

That’s a vanishingly small proportion of the millions of votes cast.

What would these new, apparently unnecessary, requirements mean for PA voters? Fifty-four percent of Pennsylvanians (6.7 million people) do not have a valid passport.

At least 2.9 million women in PA do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name. Registering to vote on line would not be acceptable, thus there could be no voter registration drives in the community or high schools.

Well-meaning citizens might not be available to register in person during business hours, much less obtain the required documentation. Obtaining these documents is time-consuming and expensive.

The SAVE America Act has passed the US House of Representatives and is currently being debated in the US Senate. Please contact our PA Senators: John Fetterman at 202-224-4254 (https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/contact/) and David McCormick 202-224-6324 (https://www.mccormick.senate.gov/contact/contact-dave/). Share your opinions.

We believe that we don’t need to make voting more difficult for everyone to solve a trivial problem. Let Senators Fetterman and McCormick know your opinions on SAVE America Act, and your right to vote in our democracy.

Susan Stout and Phyllis Wright are members of the League of Women Voters of Warren County.