Black voting rights are under attack.
In February, I voted against the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, but unfortunately, my Republican colleagues passed it out of the House. It now faces a battle in the Senate, with vocal support from President Trump.
But this bill has nothing to do with keeping elections safe. Instead, it has everything to do with preventing communities of color and women from easily voting.
It’s far from a new tactic to suppress voting rights. It’s a narrative MAGA Republicans have been pushing for years.
In 2024, Elon Musk claimed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that “[Democrats] are importing voters.” That post has been viewed more than 24 million times.
In February, the Secretary of Homeland Security said, “When it gets to election day, we’ve been proactive to make sure we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country.”
We know she means “the right people” are people who don’t look like us.
Donald Trump perpetuated this myth on the campaign trail many times. In his State of the Union address in February, Trump claimed the SAVE Act is necessary to “stop illegal aliens and others who are uncommitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections.” It was central to his false claims that he won the 2020 election — claims that have been debunked again and again.
The NAACP has described the SAVE Act as disguising voter suppression techniques aimed at disenfranchising Black voters as election security.
The assertion that immigrants are illegally voting in our elections at high rates is a lie. It’s a manufactured emergency, completely invented by Republicans to justify attacks on voting rights. It’s already against the law for non-citizens to vote, so we don’t need another law to make something illegal more illegal. Reports show non-citizens voting very rarely happens. It’s a nonexistent threat. So why do Republicans keep repeating this lie?
It’s about fear, driven by racism and echoing the “Great Replacement theory” — a white supremacist idea that white people will be replaced by minorities.
The lie that illegal immigrants are “stealing” votes is effective in advancing a racist agenda. Creating new barriers for Black voters ensures our community’s interests aren’t represented in elected offices.
The SAVE Act forces Americans to present a passport or birth certificate in person just to register to vote or update their registration. Two-thirds of Black Americans do not have a passport, and obtaining one costs time and money. For young people, working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and those with limited mobility, obtaining a passport is even more difficult.
This bad bill also impacts the nearly 69 million women in the United States who changed their last names after marriage, and whose names on their birth certificates don’t match their married names. These women — many of them working mothers — will have to go to great lengths to secure the proper documentation, just to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
The SAVE America Act would also force states to adopt strict voter ID laws, creating a federal surveillance system of voters in the hands of this Trump administration. It’s all part of Donald Trump’s dream of nationalizing elections and ending states’ ability to manage their own elections.
As the first state to require a photo ID to vote, Indiana has restricted voter access and made it harder to vote for years — and experienced low voter turnout as a result. This is a systemic issue. It didn’t begin with the SAVE Act, but this new proposal could significantly worsen Black voting rights.
So what can we do?
Individually, we can make sure we vote. Indiana’s voter registration deadline for the 2026 primary election is April 6, and the deadline for the general election is October 5. You can also call your senators in Washington and urge them to oppose the SAVE Act
Collectively, we can join forces to defeat these attempts to restrict our voting rights. It’s not only possible, but there is also proof that organizing works — the SAVE Act was defeated once before when it was first introduced last session and failed, in large part from public backlash. It’s essential that Americans join forces again to call their U.S. senators and send a clear message: the SAVE America Act is wrong for our country.
Our ancestors sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears for our right to vote today — and we’re still fighting for it. But if we work together, educate ourselves, organize, and mobilize, this is a fight we can win.
Learn more at carson.house.gov or email andre.carson07@mail.house.gov.
 America Act, but unfortunately, my Republican colleagues passed it out of the House. It now faces a battle in the Senate, with vocal support from President Trump.){kind=link}