Dear Friends,
March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women throughout American history. Women have shaped our country as inventors, engineers, scientists, soldiers, doctors, pilots, civil rights leaders, artists, writers, and public servants.
The 2026 Women’s History Month theme is “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.” The National Women’s History Alliance notes that we are living through a moment when major challenges such as "climate change, economic insecurity, healthcare disparities and threats to democratic participation” are converging globally. Across the country, women are helping design solutions that strengthen our communities, our economy, and our democracy.
This week, I want to focus on the threats to democratic participation.
Many of you have contacted my office about the H.R. 22, the so called “SAVE Act” and raised concerns about how it could affect voting rights. While I do not serve in Congress, I share concerns about how this legislation could impact voters in Pennsylvania, particularly women and people of limited economic means.
The SAVE Act would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person to register to vote in federal elections. In practice, it would eliminate online and mail voter registration and require applicants to present certain documents to an election official, such as a passport, military ID or service record, or a government-issued ID along with additional documentation proving citizenship, such as a birth certificate with a name matching your voting name. A REAL ID would not be sufficient. Anyone whose name does not match their birth certificate would have to provide certified copies of documentation of any name changes, including married names. Almost 70 million women do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, about nine percent of Americans, more than 21 million people, do not have ready access to documents such as a passport or a paper copy of their birth certificate. Because documents such as passports or birth certificates often reflect a previous legal name, the legislation could create additional barriers to voter registration for individuals, particularly married women, who have changed their name, according to the League of Women Voters and the Brennan Center for Justice. In a study of 2024 voters, only 46% registered voters reported having an unexpired passport with the same name as the one under which they are registered to vote. Currently, the cost to renew your passport is $130 and $165 for a first-time applicant.
Currently, election officials already verify citizenship using information such as a driver’s license number or Social Security number. This bill would shift that responsibility onto voters every time they register, move, change their name, or update their party affiliation.
Supporters argue the bill is necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting, but research consistently shows this is extremely rare. One study identified just 77 cases of noncitizen voting between 1999 and 2023, and the overall rate is estimated to be less than 0.0003%. Existing federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting and imposes severe penalties. While this bill is being sold as one thing, its clear intent is another.
When voting against the legislation, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon stated:
“Let me be perfectly clear: This is a non-issue. Non-citizens do not vote in U.S. elections. Under federal law, non-citizens are already prohibited from voting in federal elections and could face prison or deportation just for registering.”
She also warned that the real burden would fall on eligible voters:
“The communities that will bear the burden of complying with the SAVE Act’s onerous requirements will be military voters, married women, rural voters, voters of color, older Americans, and millions of other eligible Americans.”
The debate around the legislation has also taken on heightened political urgency. Recently, Donald Trump stated that he would not sign other legislation until the SAVE Act is passed and has claimed that if the bill becomes law, Democrats “probably won’t win an election for 50 years and maybe longer.” His press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently admitted that some women who have changed their names will have to re-register in order to vote.
For women, the potential impact could be significant.
Research shows about 80% of married women change their last name, meaning many women have identification documents that do not match the name on their birth certificate. As currently written, the SAVE Act does not clearly provide workable alternatives for voters to verify their citizenship using name-change documentation such as a marriage certificate.
In Pennsylvania alone, an estimated 2.8 million women do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name, meaning millions of eligible voters could face new hurdles simply to register or update their voter information.
At a time when we are celebrating the leadership and contributions of women during Women’s History Month, protecting full and fair access to the ballot remains essential to building the sustainable future this year’s theme calls for.
This bill is expected to be voted on in the Senate imminently. If you share my concerns, I encourage you to contact Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators and make your voice heard: