The U.S. House has passed a bill that would require people to show multiple documents proving their U.S. citizenship when they register to vote. House Republicans and four Democrats who voted Thursday for the SAVE Act say it will prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting. But critics, including Vermont's sole U.S. representative Becca Balint, worry it will disenfranchise millions of Americans.
"The name of the bill is perverse because it doesn't save our democracy," Balint said in a video posted to her social media channels. "It doesn't protect voting. Instead, it has the potential to strip away the voting eligibility of nearly 70 million American women. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. This Republican bill is a form of voter suppression."
Though the White House press secretary calls these types of claims "fearmongering," Vermont's top election official Sarah Copeland Hanzas agrees with her congresswoman.
As Vermont's Secretary of State, Copeland Hanzas oversees voter processes and election security. During an interview on Vermont Edition, she said she was particularly concerned about requiring people to show multiple physical documents proving their U.S. citizenship when they register to vote.
Who might be impacted?
"This will disadvantaged elderly folks who have trouble getting down to their town clerk's office," Copeland Hanzas said of the SAVE ACT. "This will impact rural people who maybe live in one town but leave early in the morning for a job in another town. This would require them to take time off of work in order to go down to their town clerk's office. This will be a huge burden on our town and city clerks who will need to extend their office hours and provide personnel to be able to take people's documentary proof of citizenship."
Copeland Hanzas also noted that women who change their last names after getting married could have a difficult time getting a new birth certificate. To test the process, Copeland Hanzas sent in a birth certificate change request to the city where she was born. The city sent the application back — they only keep records for ten years — and suggested she try the county office next.
"If you didn't happen to think, oh gosh, I should have those documents on hand, then you could find yourself on Election Day ineligible to vote," she said.
Other proof of citizenship efforts
The SAVE Act echoes an elections-related executive order signed by President Trump last month. Nearly 20 Democratic attorneys general, including Vermont's Charity Clark, have signed on to a multi-state lawsuit challenging the order.
Some states, including New Hampshire, have already passed their own state-level proof of citizenship laws. Vermont has not. When someone signs up to vote in Vermont, they check a box declaring themselves a citizen of the United States under the pains and penalties of perjury. Copeland Hanzas said it is "very, very, very rare for somebody who's not a citizen to wind up on our voter registration rolls." If they do, they tend to self-report the error to their town clerk in order to avoid putting their future citizenship at risk.
Three Vermont cities do allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections: Winooski, Montpelier and Burlington. Copeland Hanzas said she wasn't sure if the SAVE Act would affect those city policies. "We certainly will fight to defend their right," she said, "but it remains to be seen."
The SAVE Act now moves to the Senate. It died there during the last Congress, when Democrats controlled the upper chamber. Republicans now have a slim majority; seven Democrats would have to join all Republicans in voting yes to avoid a filibuster.
Cuts to federal election security agency
During the interview on Vermont Edition, Copeland Hanzas also discussed proposed workforce reductions at a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) conducts physical security assessments at election offices around the state. They also tested the state's cyber security during the last election cycle.
"The loss of CISA really does leave a bit of a pit of dread in my stomach," Copeland Hanzas said. "The thought that little old Vermont would be able to stand up that kind of support all on its own is pretty daunting."
Broadcast live on Monday, April 14, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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