Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, today released the statement below following House Republicans unveiling their disastrous scheme to avert a government shutdown. This highly partisan plan is part of House GOP’s ongoing push to undermine confidence in the 2024 election, including a Constitution Subcommittee hearing this Tuesday, September 10, titled: “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Noncitizen Voting.”

“As Congress returns to session, Donald Trump and House Republicans are demanding passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act as their new ransom to avoid a government shutdown.

“Proponents of the SAVE Act, including architects of Project 2025, claim that it would address the nonexistent problem of noncitizen voting in American elections. But in reality, the SAVE Act would disenfranchise American citizens and bring chaos and confusion to our election system - which is why Trump is trying to force its passage before the 2024 election.

“For years, Trump and his allies have claimed falsely that large numbers of noncitizens are voting in U.S. elections. This is a lie. Every reliable study ever done on this topic has proved that noncitizen voting in American elections is extremely rare, and has not impacted election results. Speaker Johnson has himself admitted that the inflammatory claims of noncitizen voting in federal elections are not “provable.” It is already illegal for noncitizens to register or vote in federal elections, and doing so could result in significant jail time and deportation.

“So why are Trump and his allies ready to shut down the government to pass the SAVE Act? Because MAGA extremists are spreading their noncitizen voter lie as part of a cynical campaign to undermine public faith in our elections, to suppress the votes of those likely to oppose a second Trump term, and to set the stage to challenge the 2024 election results if Trump loses.

“As written, the SAVE Act will do real, tangible harm to our democracy, preventing American citizens from voting, causing chaos at election bureaus, and undermining faith in election results. 

• The SAVE Act would prevent most Americans from registering to vote using their driver’s licenses or other state-provided identification alone, requiring them to produce additional identification and documents that many voters do not possess. By limiting the types of identification that could be used to register to vote, the SAVE Act would restrict which American citizens could vote. Research and court challenges to similar laws show that requirements like those in the SAVE Act reliably disenfranchise low-income, minority, senior, and student voters. 

• Even as states have tried to make voter registration more convenient for eligible voters, the SAVE Act would force voters to travel to voter registration centers and produce documents - even if they are merely updating their registration as the result of a move, a name change, or a party switch.

• The SAVE Act would become effective immediately - just weeks before the presidential election, at a time of peak voter registration. Election officials would not have time to implement new procedures or educate the public, which would produce uncertainty and more opportunities to challenge and disrupt the election process. 

• The SAVE Act will cause more chaos by adding opportunities for private citizens to sue election officials. Since 2020, our courts and election bureaus have been overwhelmed by frivolous lawsuits inspired by the former President’s election lies and conspiracy theories. These suits have been uniformly rejected because they lack any basis in law or fact, but they have wasted countless hours and millions of taxpayer dollars. The SAVE Act will add opportunities to cause chaos and waste public resources through the pursuit of conspiracy theories and wild fabrications.

“Bottom line? The SAVE Act won’t prevent noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections, because they don’t. But it will stop Americans from voting - and that is unacceptable. 

“Congress must fund the government by September 30th to avoid a shutdown. House Republicans have shown by their failure to engage in good faith budget negotiations that they aren't interested in the basic duty of funding the government. But they do want to stay in power and grab the White House and Senate. Trump and his allies think that their best shot to seize power is to instill fear, suppress American votes, and promote chaos and distrust in our elections. The SAVE Act is part of that cynical plan.

“The American people deserve better. Rather than promoting voter suppression and appeasing election deniers, Congress should work to ensure  all eligible American voters have access to the ballot, and that their votes are counted.”

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