SAVE America Act: How It Would Change Voting in Nebraska

Congress is considering the SAVE America Act, a proposal that would fundamentally change how we vote – including registration, in-person voting and voting by mail. At the center of the bill is a new requirement: voters would need to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering or updating their information.

This impacts every eligible voter. In particular, it disproportionately impacts rural voters, seniors, students, naturalized citizens, and voters who have changed their names.

What is the SAVE America Act?

The SAVE America Act would require voters to show official citizenship documents, such as a U.S. passport, birth certificate, certificate of naturalization, or certificate of citizenship, when registering to vote in federal elections or updating an existing registration.

In practice, that means voter registration could become a more document-heavy process for millions of eligible voters.

What could change for voters?

If passed, the SAVE America Act could bring several major changes.

First, registering to vote or updating your registration will require more paperwork than it does now, including documents proving citizenship and, in some cases, identity.

Second, the proposal would mandate national Voter ID and narrow what types of photo identifications qualify in Nebraska. Photo IDs must demonstrate proof of citizenship and residency. Student and college IDs would no longer count, and many tribal IDs without expiration dates could also be excluded under the bill’s standards. There is also a chance that voters may need to show proof of citizenship, in addition to a valid photo ID.

Third, vote-by-mail would become less accessible. Instead of broader mail ballot access, voters will need to verify citizenship and residency to apply for a mail ballot under stricter rules, with narrower exceptions for certain groups such as military voters, some travelers, and people with disabilities.

The bill would also require voter rolls to be reviewed every 30 days using the federal SAVE query system — similar to legislation in the Unicameral, that Civic Nebraska opposed, that would require Nebraskans’ voter data to be placed in the SAVE system. If someone is flagged as a potential noncitizen, they could be removed from the rolls and required to verify their citizenship again before voting – including in the days leading up to the election.

Why are people concerned?

One major concern is voters’ broad access to documents. Many eligible Americans do not have documents that verify citizenship readily available, even though citizenship is already required to vote.

Though this legislation would impact every voter, this burden would not fall evenly. People who have changed their names, became naturalized citizens, are older adults, military families, and anyone whose records were lost, damaged, or difficult to replace could face added barriers in trying to keep their registration current.

We know that voter fraud committed by non-citizens is extremely rare nationwide, and does not exist in Nebraska. Elections are designed to be administered by local, trained officials and this legislation is an unfunded federal takeover of our election processes. We enjoy safe and secure elections in Nebraska and this legislation only endangers public trust and confidence.What documents should voters start gathering now?

The most useful step people can take right now is simple: find out what documents you already have, what name is listed on them, and whether they match your current legal identity.

What documents do you need?

Start with proof of citizenship

These are the documents most often discussed as acceptable proof of citizenship:

- - U.S. passport

- - U.S. birth certificate

- - Certificate of Naturalization

- - Certificate of Citizenship

If your name has changed, gather connecting records to

If the name on your citizenship document does not match your current legal name, you may also need records that connect those identities, such as:

- - Marriage certificate - Divorce decree - Court order for legal name change - Adoption records or other legal name-change documents

This is especially important for people who changed their surname after marriage, divorce, family reunification, or another legal process.

If you are a naturalized citizen

You should locate:

- - Certificate of Naturalization

- - Certificate of Citizenship

- - U.S. passport, if you have one

These may be especially important if you do not have a U.S. birth certificate for obvious reasons.

If you recently moved or updated your information

Because the proposal is often described as affecting voter registration updates too, it is wise to have documents that support your current identity and address, including:

- - Driver’s license or state-issued ID

- - Proof of current address if needed for registration updates

- - Any legal records tied to recent name or status changes

What does not count?

Based on the summaries currently available, voters should not assume that every common ID will qualify. In particular:

- - Student or college IDs would not qualify

- - Many tribal IDs without expiration dates could be excluded

- - Non-government or informal IDs should not be assumed to count

That is why it is important to locate official government or citizenship records now, rather than waiting until a registration deadline or election season.

What should voters do now?

If you need to update your voter registration, do it as soon as possible.

It is also important to locate one, or multiple, of these documents now: your passport, birth certificate, naturalization records, and any name-change paperwork that connects your current legal name to your citizenship documents.

This bill hurts *all *Nebraskans and makes voting harder for everyone. Contact your representatives here and tell them to oppose the SAVE America Act. Civic participation is not only about voting on Election Day. It is also about speaking up while laws are being debated.