Texas Democrats Warn SAVE Act Would Create New Barriers for Texas Voters

Proposed restrictions backed by Donald Trump could disproportionately impact working families, rural Texans, and seniors

DALLAS/FORT WORTH – The experience of Texans with voting restrictions makes the Texas Democratic Party especially qualified to tell the country what’s wrong with the restrictions in the SAVE Act, backed by Donald Trump. The proposal would make it even harder for eligible Texans to register to vote—especially working families, rural communities, students, and seniors.

“Voting should be simple, not a road trip,” said Kendall Scudder. “If you have to drive hours and bring paperwork just to register, that’s not freedom—that’s suppression.”

According to analysis highlighted by the Brennan Center for Justice and reported by Axios, millions of Americans could face new hurdles to voter registration under the SAVE Act, including long travel distances and limited access to required citizenship documents.

“This is not abstract, it’s a real barrier to voting,” Scudder added. “Texas already has voter ID laws in place. We don’t need more suppression tactics that make it harder for eligible Texans to participate in our democracy.”

The impact of restrictive voting laws in Texas is already clear. After the passage  of Senate Bill 1, tens of thousands of mail ballots were rejected, and nearly 1 in 7 mail voters in the 2021 primary had their ballot or application denied—with most never casting a vote, according to analyses by the Brennan Center for Justice and reporting from VoteBeat. These barriers have lasting effects, with impacted voters significantly less likely to participate in future elections. We’ve already seen what happens when barriers go up in Texas: fewer Texans vote.