Washington Voting Justice Coalition’s Statement on the SAVE Act and President Trump’s Unconstitutional Executive Order on Elections

Washington Voting Justice Coalition’s Statement on the SAVE Act and President Trump’s Unconstitutional Executive Order on Elections

Washington State has long been a leader in accessible voter registration. We believe our democracy works best when people of every gender, race, and income have equal access to our decision-making process. 

Our coalition has worked for decades to get where we are now, with all Washington voters able to easily register or update their addresses online or by mail. You can register with your social security number if you don’t have a driver’s license. And this spring, our state expanded automatic voter registration options to make voting even more accessible for disenfranchised communities. 

There are two recent actions that would upend all of the progress we have made here in Washington: President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that is partially blocked in the courts as of May, 2025 and the voter suppression bill called the SAVE Act that passed the US House in April. They place burdensome requirements for voter registration—forcing everyone to show up in person with a passport or birth certificate. In addition to ending our online and mail voter registration system, they have additional requirements that disrupt our ability to vote by mail.

Like past tactics such as poll taxes and literacy tests, the SAVE Act is an attempt to trick us into making it harder for many citizens to use their political voice. 

This legislation threatens the voting freedoms of millions of Americans. More than 150 million American citizens (about half) do not have a passport, and millions more do not have birth certificates that match their current legal names. Many married women, transgender people, and Indigenous people, who only have tribal IDs, would be immediately disenfranchised by this law change. Even for people who have their documents readily available, the in-person requirement would be a major barrier. This change would be especially harmful for those in rural areas who depend on our convenient online services.

The sponsors of the bill claim they want to ensure that noncitizens are not voting in federal elections. Noncitizen voting in federal elections is already illegal, and Washington has had zero cases of noncitizens attempting to vote in our history. The SAVE Act is just the latest attempt to make voting more difficult for citizens, while hiding behind a thin veil of disinformation and fear mongering about our immigrant neighbors.

We applaud Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and Attorney General Nick Brown, who joined a joint lawsuit with the state of Oregon against the Trump administration for their Executive Order. Through the work of committed community members, voting justice leaders, and elected leaders, Washington State has long been a nationally recognized pioneer in democracy reform. The Washington Voting Justice Coalition will continue to protect the voice of citizens in this state by opposing these attacks on our freedom to vote. 

Media contact: info@wavotingjustice.org

Additional reading:

Nilu Jenks, The Seattle Times: Federal SAVE Act is the latest attempt to erode voting rights

Denisse Guerrero, The Spokesman-Review: Congress is trying to limit which citizens can vote

Rep. Sharlett Mena, Tacoma News-Tribune: Trump is attacking Washingtonians’ voting rights. We must continue to expand them