April 13 update: After unfortunately passing the House of Representatives last week, the dangerous "SAVE" Act moves to the Senate. Tell your senators to vote no on this voter suppressing bill, and especially to vote no on “cloture”. That will stop the bill in its current state, and perhaps motivate cooperation to improve it.
Voting in the Senate has two stages with different-sized majorities required.
- Cloture: at least 60 senators vote in favor of ending debate on a bill and bringing it to the floor for a vote. Without 60 “yes” votes, the bill does not advance to be voted on
- Floor vote: at least 50 senators vote to pass a bill.
Cloture enables a minority to stop a vote taking place. Recent examples include the immigration reform bill and various bills to guarantee reproductive health services for women in 2024, when a minority’s opposition kept those bills from receiving votes. See below to find out how to contact your senators.
Katie Couric interviewed Heather Cox Richardson about the dangers of the bill; you can see the interview on Facebook.
March 31 update: The House of Representatives is likely to vote on this dangerous bill in the following week. On March 28, FAWCO joined four other partner organizations - the U.S. Vote Foundation, the Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), American Citizens Abroad (ACA) and the Secure Families Initiative - in signing a letter opposing the bill. Send the letter to your Representative, and phone them immediately, using the info below, to share your opposition to the bill and your determination to vote. Do so even if you are certain how your Representative will vote on the bill. Members of Congress track the views of their constituents, and they want to keep their jobs. Act now!
March 18, 2025 update: This dangerous bill is now being fast tracked for a vote. You can track its progress here. All overseas voters should express their opposition to this bill to their Representative and Senators right now - and consider asking family and friends in the USA to chime in, too. This article has a script you can use, if you are not sure what to say. Other good arguments for overseas voters are that the bill would:
- disfranchise members of the armed forces deployed overseas and
- remove the constitutional right of civilians who live overseas while leaving their obligations as citizens (e.g. filling an annual tax return and FBAR) untouched.
As FAWCO told Congress in 1976, echoing James Otis in 1775, "Taxation without representation is tyranny".
To find and contact your US Senators:
- Visit the Senate website.
- Search for your Senators using the Contact link (scroll down to find it and select your state).
- On the results page is a link to the Senators’ websites, contact information, and links to an online contact form (forms vary by Senator).
To find and contact your US Representative:
Visit the House of Representatives website.
- Search using the Find Your Representative tab (click on it, enter your zip code and click Go).
- On the results page is a photo of your Representative(s), links to the Representative’s personal website and online contact form, and a local map.
- If your zip code overlaps with multiple congressional districts, the results page will include boxes for you to enter your zip code+4 or mailing address to find the correct Representative.
Members of the House of Representatives are once again pushing the SAVE Act (ironically entitled the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility” Act - HR22), a dangerous bill that would create unnecessary obstacles for millions of eligible Americans trying to register to vote. The House passed it in 2024, but it never reached the Senate. Now they are bringing it back to restrict access to the ballot. State laws with similar provisions blocked thousands of citizens in Arizona and Kansas from voting in 2024. The house may vote on the bill as early as next week – so act now!
The SAVE Act would require every voter to show proof of citizenship, such as a passport or original birth certificate, in person when registering to vote in federal elections. The name on the document must exactly match the name of the person trying to register. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, more than 21 million eligible voters don’t have these documents readily available. Because the bill would require showing this proof in person, it would eliminate online and mail-in voter registration – cutting out both deployed military members and most civilian voters overseas. This bill wouldn’t improve election security; it would just make it significantly harder for everyday Americans to vote.
If passed, the SAVE Act would disproportionately harm:
- overseas voters, military or civilian, who would find it hard (and expensive!) to present proof of citizenship in person to their local election officials; and
- married women who have changed their last names, many of whom don’t have birth certificates matching their legal names.
Voting by non-citizens is already illegal, and states have secure systems in place to verify voter eligibility – this bill is unnecessary. It will also hugely increase the administrative burden on and costs for local election offices.
Take action: call your Representative!
Call your Representative to tell them that this bill would undermine your right to vote and cost them votes, and to vote NO when the time comes. Click here to find your Representative’s name and phone numbers; call both their Washington, DC and local offices.
Not sure what to say? Here is a sample script:
Good morning/afternoon! My name is (YOUR NAME) and I am constituent of Rep <name>. My zip code is XXXXX. I’m an American citizen living abroad and I care deeply about my country. I am calling to ask Rep <name> to oppose the SAVE Act, HR 22. This bill would completely disenfranchise me because I am not able to register to vote in person. It's still true that "taxation without representation is tyranny." Will the congress(wo)man be voting against it and protect my right to vote?
Call today!