Statement by National NOW President Kim Villanueva
The SAVE Act, just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, strips away more rights for women by stopping millions of people from voting. These new restrictions would undermine free and fair elections and grab more power for Donald Trump and a Republican party that repeatedly blocks legislation that benefits women.
The SAVE Act disenfranchises millions — as many as 69 million women — by requiring Americans to produce a passport or birth certificate that matches their current legal name to register to vote.
We know what happens when more women vote. That’s why extremist politicians who fear democracy work so hard to exclude women from the ballot box. When fewer women vote, issues like paid parental leave and family leave, affordable childcare, guaranteed health care, and ending violence against women are suppressed in favor of policies that favor wealthy men and corporations.
We need more democracy, not less. The SAVE Act is part of a campaign of election denial, voter suppression, and false claims of voter fraud.
The SAVE Act doesn’t save anything. It shreds our democracy and puts voting out of reach for millions of American citizens—starting with women, people of color, young people, and immigrants.
The SAVE Act is the Stop Act—it stops millions from voting. The Senate must say NO when it comes to the floor.
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