By The Numbers: What the SAVE America Act Would Mean for Georgia

Senator Reverend Warnock is sounding the alarm about Washington Republicans' SAVE America Act, legislation that would disenfranchise millions of Georgians and remove their ability to vote in federal elections

The legislation would force voters to undergo burdensome verification requirements and present multiple types of identification, which would disenfranchise millions of legal voters across the country

Nearly 21.3 million Americans nationwide do not have the necessary documentation required by the SAVE America Act readily available

More than half of all Georgians - or 5.4 million people - lack a valid passport, and as many as 2.2 million women in Georgia may not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) released the following data outlining the harms of Washington Republicans' SAVE America Act.If signed into law, the Republican legislation could result in millions of Americans losing their ability to vote due to burdensome verification requirements. Under the SAVE America Act, voters would need to provide proof of citizenship - such as a passport or birth certificate - when registering to vote, including when updating their voter registration, and provide photo identification on Election Day or to vote by mail. Student identification cards would no longer be considered an acceptable form of identification under the proposed law.

"Let me be very clear: Americans should have to demonstrate that they are who they say they are when they cast a ballot, but Washington Republicans' claims of widespread voter fraud are virtually non-existent," said Senator Reverend Warnock. "Republicans are using this legislation as a pretext for voter suppression. They know their policies are deeply unpopular with the American people, but instead of working to change their policies, they're working to change who can vote in the next election. I will do everything I can to make sure that this attempt to turn our democracy upside down fails in the Senate."

Below is a breakdown of what the GOP Voter Suppression Bill would mean for Georgia:

The SAVE America Act would require all Georgia voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, potentially requiring voters to produce a birth certificate or marriage license; create more stringent photo ID requirements; and expose poll workers to new criminal penalties, even if they're trying to help U.S. citizens vote.

The legislation would:

• Require proof of citizenship before registering to vote (e.g., passport or birth certificate)
• Require photo identification before voting in person or by mail
• Require states to purge voters, potentially using unreliable data, and as late as on Election Day

Voters would need to provide in-person citizenship proof each time they register or update their voter registration - including when they move or update their address. Under the proposed law, voters could use a passport or birth certificate with a matching name as valid identifying documents. More than half of all Georgians - or 5.4 million people - lack a valid passport. As many as 2.2 million women in Georgia may not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name and would need to bring both their birth certificate and marriage license to register to vote under the proposed law.

Registering to vote for almost all voters would become more complex. In 2024, over 96% of voters in Georgia registered to vote through some method other than in-person voter registration at the elections office, e.g., DMV (69%), online (15%), and by mail (9%). Under this legislation, all these voters would have to present documentary proof of citizenship in-person and thus face new barriers to registration.

Voters who register to vote by mail or online would be forced to bring their identifying documents to their election official in person. This increased burden would have the largest impact on rural voters due to longer drive times required to present their proof of citizenship and register to vote in person.

Fast Facts

• Only 21% of Americans, or 21 million eligible voters nationwide, with household incomes under $50,000 possess a passport, compared to 64% of those earning over $100,000 - meaning the burden would fall disproportionately on lower-income citizens.
• About 760,000 voting-age Georgians who are U.S. citizens would have difficulty showing documentation proving their citizenship.
• Voter fraud by false identity is exceptionally rare. A 2024 audit by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger found 20 instances of noncitizens registered out of 8.2 million properly registered citizens (0.00024%) in Georgia. Only 9 had ever voted, and the majority did so before 2012. This means that the SAVE America Act would burden or disenfranchise over 150,000 Georgians for every instance of non-citizen voting in the last decade.
• 10% of Georgians have a non-expired student ID from a public university. Georgia law currently permits student IDs to be used for voter identification. The SAVE America Act would remove student IDs from the list of eligible voter identification.
• Georgia's 18,500+ poll workers would be exposed to new criminal penalties if they register someone to vote without proof of citizenship - even if that person is a U.S. citizen.

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