Since the start of the year, U.S. President Donald Trump and Congress have wasted no time in targeting elections in a combination of proposed legislation, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, and an executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” While safeguarding elections may sound rational, the results could mean that millions of Americans lose access to the ballot box and become subjected to unnecessary barriers to prove their eligibility. 

The main argument used by the Trump Administration and proponents to justify the need for action is the false claim that voter fraud is rampant in elections across the country and noncitizens are voting in large enough numbers to influence the outcomes of elections. The reality agreed upon by experts is that noncitizen voting is rare and doesn’t affect the outcome of elections. But, before we go too far into debunking that myth, it is important to understand what these actions would mean for millions of eligible voters. 

What is the SAVE Act? 

The SAVE Act was reintroduced in January of this year and has already made significant traction. Earlier this month, the United States House of Representatives voted and passed the measure, sending it to the United States Senate. While it will be a major hurdle to find 60 U.S. Senators to support the proposal and pass it, it is important to be aware of how this proposal could limit access to the ballot box.   

The Act requires voters to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote or update their voter registration, which is needed every time a voter moves to a new address. Acceptable documents to prove citizenship under the Act are:

• State-issued REAL ID that demonstrates citizenship (only five states have REAL IDs that meet this requirement);
• Valid U.S. passport;
• Military ID with documentation to prove place of birth;
• Local, State, or Federal government-issued ID, along with a birth certificate or certificate of naturalization that matches the name on the ID exactly.

On top of the additional documentation to prove citizenship, all voter registration would have to be done in person. This means that online voter registration, voter registration at driver services facilities, and mail-in voter registration would be eliminated. This jeopardizes the many safeguards Illinois has in place to make voting accessible and denies millions of Americans their right to vote.  

The effects of the SAVE Act would be significant for Illinois:

• 5,065,555 people in Illinois don’t have passports or birth certificates;
• 2,548,936 married women in Illinois could be disenfranchised because their legal names don’t match their birth certificates.

The in-person registration requirement directly impacts vulnerable communities such as people who are disabled, rural voters, and single parents. Presently, two-thirds of Black Americans do not have a valid passport. Further, 69 million American women are married and have changed their names. Many in the LGBTQ+ community have also changed their names for various reasons, disallowing them from registering to vote.

While the SAVE Act has not yet passed and faces significant hurdles to overcome to become law, President Trump’s executive order could similarly disenfranchise voters across the country. 

What is the Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections Executive Order? 

The executive order mandated by President Trump on March 25, 2025, it also aimed at requiring additional requirements for voters to prove their eligibility. However, it also follows the same flawed logic, thereby disallowing millions of eligible American voters from registering to vote in exchange for eliminating the rare instances of noncitizen voter registrations. The biggest difference between the SAVE Act and the executive order is that the executive order does not allow for the use of a birth certificate to prove citizenship. 

Additionally, the executive order has more harmful provisions. This includes:

• Anyone applying for public assistance needs to have their citizenship verified before being given access to the federal voter registration form;
• All mail-in ballots need to be received by Election Day to be counted as a vote (all ballots received after Election Day will not be considered);
• The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Government Efficiency will review every states’ voter rolls to purge any noncitizens;
• The U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice are given the authority to take action against non-compliant states, including withholding federal funds.

These mandates are dangerous for the integrity of our elections. To specifically require those on public assistance to verify their citizenship ahead of registering to vote, targets some of the most vulnerable members of society. Adding the barrier of proving their citizenship to the process puts an unnecessary strain on their ability to have meaningful representation.

Further, the shortening of the mail-in ballot window requires officials to essentially throw out otherwise valid votes. In Illinois, as long as the ballot is postmarked by Election Day, it is eligible to be counted up to 14 days after Election Day. Those extra 14 days could make a significant difference in our elections.

The integration of federal agencies into the states’ election processes require a reliance on the accuracy of federal databases. Newly naturalized citizens run the risk of being removed from voter rolls if their citizenship has not yet been updated. To also allow the U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice to withhold federal funds for noncompliance is a major restriction on the states’ powers afforded to them by the Constitution. Every state has the constitutional right to run their elections as they see fit.

The executive order is currently being challenged in the U.S. Federal Court in a lawsuit filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens, the League of Women Voters Education Fund, and the Democratic National Committee. On April 24, 2025, U.S. District Judge Collen Kollar-Kotelly temporarily blocked the citizenship requirement for registering to vote, including for public assistance enrollees. She did not address the other provisions in the executive order.

Are noncitizens voting in Illinois elections? 

The claim that noncitizen voting is happening and possibly influencing the outcome of elections has never been proven, and cases of noncitizen voting are rare. To put it in perspective: 

• According to the Brennan Center, the instances of noncitizen voting, in 42 jurisdictions with high populations of noncitizens, accounted for 0.0001% of the 2016 general election votes.
• The Bipartisan Policy Center analyzed the Heritage Foundation’s election fraud cases database and found 77 instances of noncitizens voting between 1999 and 2023, with no more than 10 instances in Illinois.

Putting in place additional barriers to provide citizenship is a solution in search of a problem.

CHANGE Illinois’ response

CHANGE Illinois fundamentally disagrees with the disenfranchisement of any voters, and these provisions would ultimately disenfranchise millions of fully eligible voters. Many of the voter access initiatives we have fought for would be eliminated, including automatic voter registration, online voter registration, and the expansion of vote-by-mail ballots.  If millions of Americans are not allowed to vote because they do not have the means or access to obtain these documents proving their citizenship, we cannot call ourselves a representative government.

On Tuesday, April 22nd, our Policy Director, Eli Brottman, testified before the Illinois House of Representatives’ Ethics and Elections Committee about the consequences of the SAVE Act. That testimony is available here. 

If you are interested in continuing the conversation, we are hosting a series of educational discussions about this topic. Head to our Get Involved page for all the details.