The SAVE Act: Detrimental To Disability Voting Rights

The SAVE Act: Detrimental to Disability Voting Rights

As the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act is taken up (again) by Congress, people should be aware that many provisions in the bill negatively impact voting rights, especially for the disabled.

Currently each state handles its own voting laws individually. In some states you can register on the day of the election, in others you must register in advance. In eight states and the District of Columbia, you can vote by mail. The SAVE Act would federalize voter registration laws, overriding each individual state’s voter registration laws, making it substantially harder for the most vulnerable to vote.

People with disabilities already face significant barriers to voting access, as many polling places are inaccessible, with no clear path to the polling booth. The SAVE Act brings voting barriers to the next level. The bill requires all individuals to show documentation such as a drivers’ license or state ID, followed by a birth certificate or a U.S. passport, documents that most people with disabilities do not have or have access to. It requires that all individuals register in person, and does not allow a support person to register on behalf of someone disabled.

In 2020, more than 50% of individuals with disabilities voted by mail. Due in part to transportation issues and the general inaccessibility of polling places, mail-in voting is the most efficient way to cast a ballot. The SAVE Act would eliminate mail-in voting, removing the most viable voting option that people with disabilities have.

The SAVE Act’s document requirements are onerous. The names on your documents must match precisely, or necessitate a lengthy process to prove who you are, creating barriers for women who changed their names when they married, or those who legally changed their names for other reasons. The requirements for additional documentation and re-registration in person make voting next to impossible for many, since receipt time of new documents varies widely.

Voting should be a fundamental human right, and voting access a fundamental right for those with disabilities. The SAVE Act would not only restrict voting access to people with disabilities, but to those in marginalized communities and our most vulnerable neighbors. Imposing documentation requirements that were not designed for voter registration significantly reduces voter turnout and creates unfair barriers to voting.

For more information about how the SAVE Act would impact voting, go to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network at https://autisticadvocacy.org/2026/02/the-save-act-would-stop-some-disabled-people-from-voting/.

To reach out to your U.S. Senators about this bill, The Arc of Massachusetts has put up a form to write to your senators about how bad this bill is and how it would impact people with disabilities. The link is at https://act.thearc.org/campaign/158054/.

Teddy Gronostalski
Systems Change Advocate Assistant, Stavros CIL