McClellan Statement on Passage of the SAVE America Act – A Modern-Day Poll Tax and an Attack on our Right to Vote

Washington, D.C. -Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) opposed and issued the following statement on House passage of H.R. 7296, the SAVE America Act, a rewrite of the SAVE Act that would further restrict access to the ballot for millions of American citizens and undermine Americans' fundamental right to vote:

"Voting rights are sacred. Many members of my family fought tooth and nail to be able to exercise that sacred right. And history may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.

"My great grandfather, in the name of election integrity, had to take a literacy test and find three white men to vouch for his character in order to vote. My father and my grandfather had to pay poll taxes to be able to vote in Tennessee. All of this was done to make sure that local election officials could deny people their right to participate in our democracy.

"The Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans know their policies are unpopular with the American people. Rather than fix what is failing, they seek to rewrite the rules in the middle of the game and attempt a federal takeover of our elections. They care more about winning than holding a free and fair election.

"Today, nine percent of voting age citizens and 21.3 million peoplenationwide do not have access to documentary proof of their citizenship, with the greatest impact on people of color. Every document this bill demands costs money - and whether it's the $2.12 poll tax my father paid in 1947, a $130 passport or a $1,385 certificate of citizenship, even a cent is too much. The SAVE America Act is a modern-day poll tax that exploits that reality by requiring voters to navigate a costly and time-consuming process just to exercise their constitutional right.

"I kept my father's poll tax receipt in the Bible I used to take my oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Watching Congress erode the freedom to vote is an insult to the legacy of those who came before me and a betrayal of our Constitution."