1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act introduces stricter voter registration requirements, and while it does not explicitly prohibit married women from voting, its lack of provisions for name changes could create serious barriers for women who have legally changed their last names after marriage. Considering that over 80% of women take their husband’s last name in marriage, this poses a major threat to their voting rights. The bill requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport, or REAL ID-compliant identification. However, many married women’s birth certificates do not match their current legal names due to a name change after marriage. The bill does not clarify whether marriage certificates or legal name change documents can be used to resolve these discrepancies. As a result, many married women could be prevented from registering to vote until they obtain updated documents- an often costly, time-consuming, and bureaucratic process. The bill’s supporters argue that it is meant to prevent noncitizen voting, yet there is no evidence that noncitizens are voting in large numbers. What is clear, however, is that the lack of accommodation for name changes disproportionately affects women, who are far more likely than men to change their last names. Even if this is not an intentional attack on women’s voting rights, the bill’s wording could result in voter suppression in practice.