FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
March 23, 2026

The New York Women’s Bar Association Strongly Opposes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act

The New York Women’s Bar Association (“NYWBA”) strongly opposes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (“the SAVE Act”) pending in Congress. The SAVE Act threatens the very integrity of our electoral process by undermining the fundamental right to vote of all citizens, and particularly of women and other vulnerable populations, including the disabled, elderly, low income, minorities, and transgender individuals.

There is no doubt that the SAVE Act’s imposition on voters of new and unduly burdensome requirements for acceptable proofs of citizenship will disproportionately impact women. For example, the requirement that voters produce documentation explaining the discrepancy between their legal name and the name on their birth certificate will disparately impact female voters, many of whom change their last name upon marriage or divorce, as well as transgender individuals.

The unduly burdensome requirements for identity documents will effectively disenfranchise women and other populations who are less likely to have or be able to obtain satisfactory documentation: individuals who are low income, members of racial and ethnic minorities, transgender, elderly and/or disabled. In addition, the requirement that citizens present proof of citizenship in person eliminates alternative voter registration methods, such as by mail or online, unnecessarily rendering it more difficult for the elderly, disabled, caregivers and working class to exercise their right to vote.

The SAVE Act is wholly unnecessary. There is no empirical evidence of widespread non-citizen voting, the purported problem the SAVE Act seeks to address. Moreover, states already have in place adequate registration procedures for elections, which historically have been the province of state governments, not the federal government.

The NYWBA denounces the SAVE Act as unconstitutional and a direct threat not only to a woman’s right to vote that is enshrined in the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but also to every American’s right to vote. We urge our members and fellow New Yorkers to contact their representatives in Congress to voice their opposition to this bill and demand they vote against it. The SAVE Act has no place in our democracy.

**The mission of the New York Women’s Bar Association is to improve the status of women in society, educate and promote the professional development and advancement of women lawyers, and promote the fair and equal administration of justice. The Association accomplishes these goals by promoting policies that advance its mission, and through the work of its committees, which includes programming and a newsletter on relevant legal issues. 

For further information, contact:
Lissett Costa Ferreira, President,
New York Women’s Bar Association
president@nywba.org