For months, the SAVE Act has been debated as though it represents a constitutional crisis. Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have labeled the proposal “Jim Crow 2.0,” arguing that requiring documentary proof of citizenship and identification for federal elections risks disenfranchisement. Such a charge requires evidence—evidence contradicted by nearly every available statistic on the U.S. voting population.
The SAVE Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Its premise is straightforward: American citizens should determine the outcome of American elections. That principle is neither novel nor radical. Federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal contests. The SAVE Act formalizes a verification mechanism to ensure that statutory prohibition is meaningfully enforced.
Democrats frequently cite raw identification statistics to suggest that the SAVE Act would lead to large-scale voter exclusion. Approximately 29 million voting-age Americans lack a valid driver’s license. That figure, while accurate, is analytically incomplete. A driver’s license is not the legal standard. The relevant question is whether an individual lacks any non-expired, government-issued photo identification. That number is closer to 7 million—roughly 3 percent of the voting-eligible population.
Even that figure requires context. Voter participation varies significantly by education and income. Recent election data show that approximately 82 percent of Americans with advanced degrees vote, compared to about 52 percent of those with only a high school diploma. Turnout among white voters approaches 70 percent. Among Black voters, participation has hovered near 59 percent. Hispanic turnout has often been lower, around 47 percent.
Hellbound and Down 