Five times in American history, the will of the people was overridden, as the presidential candidate with the most votes did not win the presidency. Five times, millions of votes were silenced. This is because our system prioritizes not the power of its people, but the power of the Electoral College.The Electoral College is an outdated relic initially created by enslavers to disempower voters — especially Black voters. Today, it's simply a threat to our democracy, as it puts the decision-making power in the hands of politically motivated Electoral College members rather than the American people. 

It's no surprise that most American voters want to eliminate the Electoral College. Just as we advocated for a more representative democracy in the early days of the women's suffrage movement, we're doing so now. We're creating the One Person One Vote campaign to demand that the people's voices be heard.  Be part of the movement. You can learn more at lwv.org/onepersononevote

• BLOG: What is "One Person, One Vote?"

• BLOG: The Electoral College: What is it good for?

• BLOG: Reforming the Electoral Count Act

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require citizenship documentation to vote even though voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering to vote.  If enacted, the law would effectively eliminate online and mail voter registration options by mandating applicants bring approved citizenship documents to election offices.

Acceptable documentation under the bill includes a U.S. passport, a government-issued photo ID with a listed place of birth, or a REAL ID-compliant form of identification. Military IDs and other government-issued photo IDs are acceptable only if accompanied by additional proof of citizenship, such as a certified birth certificate.  Furthermore, the bill allows for a discrepancy process, in which applicants without standard documentation must provide supplementary records—such as a naturalization certificate, consulate birth report, or qualifying adoption decree—to establish citizenship.

Critics point out that birth certificates often do not reflect current legal names, which could disproportionately affect voters who have changed their names—particularly married women. Research suggests that up to 34% of voting-age women lack citizenship documents matching their current legal name, and more than 9% of Americans do not have readily available proof of citizenship. Because marriage certificates are not explicitly listed as acceptable documentation, these changes may pose additional barriers to registering and voting under the SAVE Act.

Tell Your Members of Congress to Oppose the SAVE Act Now!
Read LWVAZ President's Op-ed on the SAVE Act

We each have the power to increase voter turnout. Register to vote & help others register, too!
VOTE411.org/register Tenemos el poder de aumentar la participación electoral. ¡Regístrese para votar y ayude a otros a registrarse también! VOTE411.org/es/register

Vote411.org is a national nonpartisan one-stop shop for voting. You can:

• Register to vote
• Check your registration
• See what's on your ballot
• Find polling locations
• Find voting rules in your state
• Become a poll worker

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