The Weekly Beat: February 21st, 2025
- Judy Stahl
- Feb 21
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 28
A Letter From Voice For Values Founder, Judy Stahl
As a pro democracy PAC, Voice for Values is laser-focused on ensuring that American citizens vote. Amidst the flood of destructive policies from our wholly Republican-led government, the SAVE Act, "Safeguard American Voter Eligibility" Act, which passed the House in the last Congress and is again in committee and headed towards passage, is one of the worst. If passed, this bill would obstruct the ability of vast numbers of American married women to vote, simply because they took their husband's last name. It wouldn’t have become law under President Biden, but elections have consequences. Its passage would be a big step forward for the Project 2025 agenda and a massive step backwards for American Democracy.
In college in the 1970’s, I asked some young women what they were studying. They said "We're here to get our MRS." At that time, the majority of American women grew up preparing to become wives and mothers. The feminist movement of the 1970's was led by the vanguard. The suffragettes of the early 20th century were heroes beyond what most of us can imagine. Now, we have taken for granted that women have the right to vote. Until 2022, we took for granted that women had a right to control our own bodies and reproductive health. We have all been comfortable with the idea of women running our own businesses, handling our own money, and running our own lives. In 2025, none of this can be taken for granted.
The fundamental vision of Project 2025— about which we were all warned before the 2024 election— is the suppression of women. I've said it before. I say it again: When the status of women is assured, all of our pernicious problems will disappear. It might sound quaint, but I believe it is true, and worth fighting for.
The SAVE Act is one of many examples of our government taking action that is diametrically opposed to the will of the majority. New polls show that the American people are highly alarmed by and opposed to the actions of this rogue administration and its minions in Congress. Congressional Republicans have been cowed by this criminal administration and abandoned the people who they were elected to serve and protect.
We are careening full speed towards an autocracy. It would be easy to get discouraged and want to escape this harsh reality in any way possible. But as a caring and optimistic person who is also informed and practical, I urge you to stay present. As the pain and insanity expands, more people are standing up and taking action. People are in the streets, writing and calling their Congress people, writing to their local newspapers, listening to and supporting independent news sources. People are voting with their feet and their dollars by boycotting businesses and corporations that are supporting this criminal administration and the tenets of project 2025. The shock, discontent, and outright anger must continue. This must grow. Simultaneously, in our personal sphere, we must stand ready to have compassionate yet firm conversations with those who are waking up from the cult. We must be prepared to provide a clear and measured counterpoint to those who would spread disinformation.
When I was young, the boast and pride of America was that each succeeding generation would inherit “a better quality of life than their parents” before them. That has not been true for at least the last 40 years. Based on our current political realities, young people in this country have a bleak future. If you care about the world that your children and grandchildren will inherit, don’t fade away. Take the action that is yours alone to take. Our time is now.
For the future,
Judy
Main Story: Breaking down the SAVE Act
Our main story this week is about the second iteration of the SAVE act. The SAVE Act or the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility” Act was originally introduced in 2024 by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
At the time, it passed the House of Representatives, but was not taken up by the Senate. Then, we elected a new Congress.
After his re-election, Rep. Roy and several of his Republican colleagues re-introduced the SAVE Act in an attempt, they claimed, to ensure election integrity by strengthening citizenship and identification verification requirements. However the bill excludes key identification forms which could disenfranchise millions of women and people of color, particularly tribal voters.
If passed, and signed into law, the SAVE Act would require all voters to provide one of the following forms of identification in order to prove citizenship:
U.S. passport
Birth certificate
Naturalization certificate
Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA)
On this surface, this seems easy to comply with, yet it creates severe barriers to voting when you consider the following:
As many as 140 million Americans do not have a valid U.S. passport, and 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.
Over 21 million Americans are unable to readily access their birth certificates, and 3.8 million do not have access to a birth certificate at all.
Name change documents and marriage certificates are not valid supplementary documents to prove identity and citizenship under the SAVE act.
Tribal IDs are only accepted with a valid birth certificate.
There’s no question that, if passed, the SAVE act will create barriers for voters, particularly people from low-income backgrounds. Most egregious are the barriers presented to women and tribal voters.
Without the inclusion of marriage certificates or legal orders of name change as supplementary documents, married women who have taken their spouse’s last name will not be able to register to vote for federal elections.
Without the inclusion of tribal IDs as valid proof of citizenship, many tribal voters will be unable to register to vote in federal elections.
Moreover, the SAVE act would essentially eliminate voter registration online and by mail, which millions of Americans rely on. It would also require states to conduct regular voter purges, which consistently results in eligible American citizens losing their ability to vote without their knowledge.
Our Take
The SAVE act, if passed, has the potential to disenfranchise millions of voters in a variety of ways in an attempt to address a problem that is extremely rare and has not been found to have an impact on election outcomes. As stated earlier, non-citizen voting is already illegal, extremely rare, and punishable by deportation. Furthermore, in multiple instances where someone who is not a citizen has attempted to register, the current safeguards in place have prevented them from doing so.
So why solve a problem that doesn’t actually exist?
In our opinion, the SAVE Act is nothing more than a smoke screen to restrict vulnerable populations from making their voices heard. When women and low-income voters are not able to make their voices heard, a critical check on the power our elected officials have over our daily lives is undermined. When elected officials don’t have to answer to key voting blocs, they don’t have to pass legislation that addresses their daily needs. Moreover, unethical decision makers then have free reign to enact policy that actively works against the interests of those voting blocs.
In summary, the SAVE act runs afoul of nearly every democratic principle the United States was founded on.
Take Action: Tell Your Reps To Vote No On SAVE Act
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