Senators must reject Trump’s expanding anti-trans agenda in SAVE America Act, advocates warn

More than 30 LGBTQ+ and civil rights organizations are urging the U.S. Senate to reject a Republican-backed elections bill they say would both restrict access to the ballot and advance a broader federal push targeting transgender people.

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In a letter sent Wednesday, groups including the Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Lambda Legal denounced S. 1383, the latest version of the SAVE Act, calling it “a blatant attempt to steal the fundamental right to vote.”

The legislation would require documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to register to vote and would tighten identification rules. Advocates say those requirements would disproportionately burden transgender people, as well as married voters who have changed their names, because their documents may not match their current identity.

Related: Senate Republicans’ last-minute SAVE Act rewrite includes anti-transgender provisions

Related: Civil rights group calls Trump’s demand to add anti-trans language to voting bill ‘weak and desperate’

“Under the guise of addressing a non-existent voter fraud problem, this bill would create onerous restrictions,” the coalition wrote, warning the proposal would impose new financial and bureaucratic hurdles. They described the measure as “a 21st-century poll tax.”

The opposition comes as President Donald Trump, in recent days, has pushed to attach additional provisions targeting transgender people, including restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors and a nationwide ban on transgender women and girls participating in sports aligned with their gender identity.

Advocates say that convergence is intentional. By tightening voter ID rules while advancing policies that can make it harder for transgender people to obtain accurate identification, the bill risks compounding barriers to participation.

The groups point to Kansas, where changes to ID policies have led to the revocation of driver’s licenses for more than 1,700 transgender residents, as a warning of how such policies can disenfranchise voters.

Related: How the SAVE Act would make it harder for trans people, married women, and some men to vote

Related: How the Republicans’ SAVE America Act will disenfranchise married & LGBTQ+ Americans

“This further escalates the administration’s ongoing efforts to try to drive transgender people out of all facets of society,” the letter states. The coalition urged senators to reject the bill, warning it would “empower those who desire to predetermine the outcomes of our elections.”

“The legitimacy of our democracy rests on ensuring that everyone who is entitled to vote has reasonable access to the ballot box, but this legislation would do precisely the opposite,” the coalition wrote.