Annapolis – Today, Common Cause Maryland condemned the U.S. House passage of the SAVE Act, anti-voter legislation that would make it significantly harder for millions of Americans — including Marylanders — to vote. Common Cause Maryland also urged state legislators to respond by passing state-level legislation like the Maryland Voting Rights Act to protect voters’ rights in Maryland.

“Maryland lawmakers — not Trump or Congress — should determine how elections run in our state. The General Assembly had an opportunity this legislative session to assert their control by insulating our elections from federal actions that disenfranchise voters, but they ignored Trump’s recent executive order, ignored the potential passage of the SAVE Act, and chose not to pass reforms like the Maryland Voting Rights Act (MDVRA) that would have established protections against discrimination in our elections,” said Joanne Antoine, Executive Director of Common Cause Maryland.  

“We can’t keep making excuses because every state, red or blue, is at risk. Maryland lawmakers need to meet the urgency of the moment. If voter suppression isn’t welcome in our state, they are going to have to fight to protect voter rights. That starts with passage of the MDVRA.”

Under the SAVE Act, every American would have to provide in-person proof of citizenship not only to register to vote but even to update their voter registration with a new address. The SAVE Act would make it impossible for Americans to register to vote by mail, put an end to voter registration drives and erect significant hurdles for the 42 states that utilize online voter registration. Every change of address or political party would have to be done in person.

Statistics show that:

Additionally, the SAVE Act would make government less efficient and would create many bureaucratic hurdles. Tens of millions of voters would have to spend hours of time to find and/or obtain a passport or birth certificate, drive to their elections office, and potentially spend hours in line at their elections office to prove their citizenship when registering to vote. This bill provides no additional funding for already underfunded and overworked elections officials.

While Common Cause Maryland successfully advocated this session for the passage of legislation to help ensure voters with limited English proficiency have the tools they need to meaningfully participate in elections, there’s still work to be done to protect Maryland voters.

The Maryland General Assembly can take action to protect voters from these federal attacks on voting rights by passing the Maryland Voting Rights Act (MDVRA), a package of bills that build on the federal VRA by establishing critical protections at the state level for Black and Brown voters.

To learn how the SAVE Act will disenfranchise voters, click here.

To learn more about Common Cause Maryland’s efforts to fight back against anti-voter legislation like the SAVE Act, click here.

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