Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) re-introduced the SAVE Act which will disenfranchise millions of voters on sovereign lands.
Members of Congress are back in Washington and working on legislation to “help” the American people. Unfortunately, House Republicans’ idea of “helping Americans” is stripping them of their access to vote.
One of the first bills to be introduced was a new iteration of the SAVE Act, which passed the House in 2024, but was not taken up by the Senate. The bill, if enacted, would ban non-citizens from registering to vote in federal elections, and would require voters to provide proof of citizenship to register.
Seems reasonable, right? Here’s the problem: It’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 already prohibits non-citizens from registering to vote and casting ballots. Every voter who registers must sign an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that states they are citizens and therefore legally able to vote.
The SAVE act adds new documentation requirements to this law laying out a list of approved documents voters must provide when they register to approve citizens. This by itself creates barriers for a host of people when you consider that millions of voters, predominantly low-income voters, lack the requisite documentation (e.g. passport, REAL ID, etc). To make matters worse, the bill specifically excludes tribal IDs on its list of approved documents.
NEAZ organizers helping voters register.
Republicans are trying to pass a bill which would make it so that tribal IDs are not valid proof of citizenship. Here’s the good news: NEAZ is fighting back.
As a year-round organizing program, NEAZ is continuing to run its voter empowerment and education programs. Our team is actively on the ground, working with our communities to make sure folks have all the necessary documents to register and cast a ballot when the time comes. We are also specifically advising our organizers about the potential threat to tribal sovereignty and civil rights the SAVE Act presents. At every education event we hold, voters are being informed exactly which of their representatives are willing to disenfranchise them to win cheap political points with their corporate donors.
The even better news: Our program is expanding.
Thanks to the hard work of our team and the generosity of supporters like you, we will be hiring organizers from the San Carlos Apache, Yavapai Apache, and Tohono O’odham communities. We are also launching a brand new program designed to empower men to be leaders for our Democracy, called the Warrior Up Program.
A Family Votes Matriarch speaking with voters
The Warrior Up program uses the same, highly successful, relational organizing model our Youth Votes and Family Votes programs use. These programs have been transformational, and we’re hopeful we will see similar effects among the men in our community by creating space for men to engage with the issues they care about, take action, and contribute meaningfully to their families and communities.
This is critical. In many Native cultures, achieving balance between male and female perspectives is essential. Our Family Votes program was designed with this in mind, recognizing that women often lead in cultural and community roles—sometimes behind the scenes, sometimes at the forefront. And uplifting their leadership is necessary to subvert the patriarchal structures colonization has imposed to devalue the role of women. However it is equally important to uplift men, and encourage their participation and leadership in ways that complement and strengthen the whole community.
We’re excited about the work ahead of us and the increased capacity we will have to reach voters on sovereign lands and help Democrats win. This work is our best path to prevent egregious civil rights violations like the SAVE act from becoming valid law. But, none of it is possible without grassroots support from people like you.
NEAZ team with U.S. Sec. of Interior Deb Haaland.
There are three ways you can help:
First, share this story with as many people as you can.
Second, contact your representatives and ask them to vehemently oppose the SAVE act and any action to disenfranchise native voters.
Finally, please make as generous of a donation as you can to NEAZ to help us kickstart the Warrior Up program and our team expansion.
