Anti-Voting Activists Have a Plan to Pass the SAVE Act

By Yunior Rivas

Jenny Beth Martin, president and co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots speaks during a rally organized by Tea Party Patriots on Capitol Hill in Washington (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The SAVE Act has stalled in the Senate since April, but a group of influential right-wing activists have hatched a plan to get it to President Donald Trump’s desk. 

Tea Party Patriots, the political arm of the long-running Tea Party movement, is launching a campaign aimed at pressuring lawmakers to prioritize the bill, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. 

Voting rights advocates warn the legislation could disenfranchise millions of eligible Americans, particularly women, young voters, low-income people and naturalized citizens.

Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, told supporters in a Zoom call that was reviewed by Democracy Docket that the group aims to convince lawmakers to attach the SAVE Act to a must-pass piece of legislation this fall — likely either a continuing budget resolution or the National Defense Authorization Act.

Launched not long after former President Barack Obama took office, Tea Party Patriots has a record of mobilizing large numbers of conservative voters, and enjoys relationships with key Republican lawmakers. Martin was among the conservative leaders who spoke at a press conference led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) last year to promote an earlier version of the SAVE Act.

“We’ve learned over the course of our movement that when you want to get something done, you have to attach it to must-pass legislation,” Martin said.“We need to get the SAVE Act and the requirement for proof of citizenship to register to vote added to that must-pass piece of legislation that will move through Congress in September.” she added. 

To pressure lawmakers to do that, Martin said, the group is launching “Only Citizens Vote Month” in August. Volunteers will knock on doors, hold rallies and push Republican lawmakers to commit to attaching  the SAVE Act to must-pass legislation. 

The group’s website allows volunteers to sign up to get involved in the effort.

The plan isn’t new.

Johnson previously tried to include the SAVE Act in a budget bill last year, but dropped it after the measure failed to advance in the House. 

But Martin, who stood outside the Capitol with a bullhorn on January 6, 2021, assured supporters this campaign is not just symbolic. 

“This is truly an effort to get this passed into law,” Martin said. “I’m tired of messaging bills. I’m tired of things where we don’t win and we don’t finish the job. This is something we should be able to win with and we should be able to finish the job on.” 

“It isn’t just, like, a petition to grow our list or something like that,” Martin continued. “It is truly something we want to make a difference with.”