Donald Trump has issued an extreme ultimatum to Congress: he says he will refuse to sign any legislation unless Republicans first pass the SAVE America Act.[1]
Not a funding bill. Not bipartisan legislation. Nothing.
Trump has made clear that every other issue before Congress must take a back seat until lawmakers change the rules governing how Americans vote.
The SAVE America Act would impose sweeping new barriers to voting in federal elections. The bill would require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote, impose rigid voter ID mandates nationwide, and create new federal requirements that threaten mail registration systems that millions of voters rely on.
Republicans claim this is about preventing noncitizen voting but not only is that already illegal – it’s extremely rare. The real impact of this legislation would fall on eligible voters who suddenly must produce specific government documents simply to register or update their registration.
Millions of Americans do not have easy access to those documents. Students living away from home. Seniors who no longer have original records. Married women whose legal names have changed. Working people who move frequently and rely on accessible registration systems to stay eligible to vote.
If this bill becomes law, many of them could face significant new bureaucratic barriers that make it much harder to participate in federal elections.
At the same time, powerful right-wing organizations are lobbying aggressively to force the bill through Congress. Conservative advocacy groups and activists have been pressuring Senate Republicans to move the legislation to the front of the agenda and urging lawmakers to deploy procedural tactics to push it over the finish line.
And Trump is now escalating the pressure in dramatic fashion. He has publicly declared that he will block unrelated legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act and sends it to his desk. He is urging Republicans to focus on the bill “exclusively” and has warned senators not to accept a watered-down version.
This is not routine legislative maneuvering. It is a direct attempt to rewrite voting rules ahead of one of the most consequential election cycles in modern United States history.
Control of Congress is on the ballot in the midterms, and the outcomes will determine the future of fundamental rights, democratic institutions, and the direction of the country for years to come. Changing the rules governing who can vote and how they can register in the middle of that environment is an enormous threat to fair and accessible elections.
That is why it is critical that the Senate reject the SAVE America Act.
The strongest way to stop this bill is to demonstrate overwhelming public opposition and make clear that voters are paying attention as this debate unfolds.
Sign the petition now and tell the Senate: Reject the SAVE America Act and protect voting rights for millions of Americans.
