Brown Votes Against Radical and Reckless Republican Voter Suppression Legislation

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) voted against the SAVE Act, legislation that would restrict voting rights for millions of eligible American citizens and create new burdens and costs on military voters, married women, minority voters and others. The SAVE Act is entirely unnecessary because it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote. 

Under the SAVE Act, nearly all Americans would be unable to register to vote with a driver’s license, requiring them to also provide proof of citizenship with either a passport or a birth certificate with their current legal name. Over 140 million Americans do not have a passport, which costs at least $130 to obtain; and over 69 million women do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name.  

According to analysis from the Center for American Progress, over 2.6 million Ohio women do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name. 

“Trump and his MAGA allies are trying to make it harder for people to vote – plain and simple. The SAVE Act is a solution in search of a problem. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote, but this bill adds red tape with the sole goal of blocking eligible Ohioans from the ballot box. If you’ve changed your name—like over 2 million women in Ohio have after marriage—you could be turned away from voting altogether. The SAVE Act is poorly written propaganda intended to suppress the vote and feed Trump’s big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. It’s unnecessary, confusing and will only create chaos for state election officials,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown. 

Congresswoman Brown also voted against the SAVE Act during the last Congress. 

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