CAP:

Soon, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act—legislation that would require Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship, in person, when they register to vote and every time that they update their voter registration information. If the bill becomes law, the vast majority of Americans would need to use either 1) a passport or 2) a birth certificate in combination with government photo ID to prove their citizenship status.* The SAVE Act applies to all voter registration methods, but in place of current online or mail-in registration, it would require Americans to physically travel to their designated election office, during business hours, to present their documentation to an election official. In each federal election cycle, approximately 80 million Americans register to vote for the first time or update their voter registration information. While the SAVE Act threatens to disenfranchise millions of citizens overall, 60 million rural Americans would face some of the greatest obstacles to making their voices heard if the bill becomes law—including, in some instances, having to cross state lines. Citizens in Alaska and Hawaii could even be forced to take plane rides.

The SAVE Act would particularly harm rural voters because millions of them rely on remote voter registration methods—online voter registration and mail-in voter registration—to securely and easily register to vote. States have invested decades of technological development and resources to ensure that voter registration is accessible to all Americans, but the SAVE Act would rip away these services. In cases where Americans mail in a voter registration application, they would still be required to show up in person to present their citizenship documentation to their election official. Under the legislation, millions of rural Americans would be forced to drive long distances to their designated election office, which for many Americans is located in their county seat.///