Congress continues to introduce bills that would require voters to present documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register and/or vote. In the 119th Congress, three major pieces of legislation have been introduced to require DPOC to vote, including:
Collectively, we are referring to these pieces of legislation as the “SAVE Act suite of bills.”
It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. The Heritage Foundation, considered a conservative think tank, provides a database of election fraud from 1982 to 2025. Only 99 instances of "alien" voting in US elections have been found (Source: Election Fraud Map). The SAVE Act suite of bills appears simply to create new barriers to voting.
League is concerned that the proposed bills suggest that there is significant voter fraud, which is not factual. Our Colorado-administered elections are already considered safe and secure, with insignificant numbers of non-citizens attempting to vote. For more information, see the LWVCO white paper “Colorado's Gold Standard Elections” and the Cato Institute report of February 5, 2026.
Many communities of eligible voters would be unnecessarily burdened by the requirements of the SAVE Act suite of bills. Among them are:
- Military voters, who would be required to present documentation every time they re-register to vote when their family moves.
- Families who have been impacted by natural disasters and lost important documentation, who would be required to jump through hoops to replace these documents while also going through the traumatic process of rebuilding their lives.
- Married women and other Americans who have changed their names, who would also be required to secure updated documentation to register to vote.
- People of color. Compared to white US citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship or face difficulties accessing them. For example, while approximately half of all American adults possess a passport, two-thirds of Black Americans do not.
Americans do not need MORE obstacles to vote. The SAVE Act suite of bills would create more barriers to the voting process, as many eligible voters do not have easy access to the necessary documents.
Take Action: Contact your representatives, particularly your senators, to let them know you are opposed to the
SAVE America Act or other bills that could constitute voter suppression. Even if you are confident that your Senators will vote the right way on this, they need to hear from all of us. If you have never contacted your representatives before, this is the time to do it! And then, urge friends outside Colorado to do the same!
Tell Congress No
Sarah O. McCarthy, Co-Director of Program and Advocacy