We’re facing a lot of challenges right now, a growing war and skyrocketing prices among them. 

So it’s a bit frustrating that President Trump has declared his “No.1 priority” to be the SAVE Act– a voter suppression bill so harmful that even members of his own party are speaking out against it. 

It’s such a priority for Trump, that he said he won’t sign a single piece of legislation until it passes. He’s serious too– there’s actually a bipartisan bill moving in Congress right now that would help lower housing costs. Trump hasn’t spoken or posted about it once. He’s all in on voter suppression right now. 

Here’s what you should know about Trump’s top priority– the SAVE Act. 

The SAVE Act Has Nothing to Do With Saving America

This bill has nothing to do with rising costs. It has nothing to do with helping you put food on the table, getting your kid a good education, or keeping the lights on each month. It has nothing to do with accessing the health care or child care your family needs. It doesn’t fill potholes, lower your rent, or address the war in the Middle East. 

Instead, it makes it a hell of a lot harder for American citizens to vote. 

It would require that voters prove their citizenship, in person, in order to register to vote. In North Carolina, a REAL ID would not be enough to prove citizenship. You’d need something like a birth certificate or passport instead– documents that are easily lost but difficult to acquire. 

North Carolinians would also no longer register to vote by mail or online or through a voter registration drive. You think the DMV is bad now? Imagine it if this bill passes. 

1 in 10 Americans Could Lose the Right to Vote

More than 9% of Americans don’t have proof of citizenship readily available– roughly 21.3 million people. Some estimates have that number closer to 12%, or 28.4 million U.S. citizens. 

Maybe your birth certificate has been long lost to the depths of a basement. Maybe it’s in your mom’s safety deposit box several states away. Maybe you have a passport, but it just expired, and the expensive application fee doesn’t fit into a tight budget right now. 

That 28 million estimate doesn’t even include the 69 million women who legally changed their names after getting married (the name on your photo ID would have to match the name on your proof of citizenship). And it doesn’t include the troops who are deployed overseas and can’t fly home just to register to vote. Simply put– a lot of eligible voters will no longer be able to vote. 

This Bill Is Built on a Lie– And North Carolinians Aren’t Buying It

Each election, dedicated poll workers spend countless hours ensuring that our elections are safe and secure. And they’ve done a great job. In 2024, the Brookings Institute looked at North Carolina’s last 39 elections for instances of voter fraud. Over nearly 40 years, they saw that out of 81,677,000 ballots cast, 99.99993% were legally cast. 

Our elections must be safe and secure– and that’s exactly why the SAVE Act is so dangerous. It undermines our elections by restricting the right to vote to only those with the time and resources to jump through Trump’s hoops on their way to the polls. It targets married women who took on their partner’s name. It targets the rural communities who would have to drive far to register to vote. It targets active duty service members who can’t fly home to register in person. 

When you ask North Carolinians what they’re worried about right now, they’ll probably mention the rising cost of living– the rent, the car payment, the electric bill. They might talk about their co-pays rising, or their concerns over delayed FEMA funding for communities rebuilding from Helene. They’ll talk about how they’re worried that their loved ones at Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, or Seymour Johnson could be getting deployed soon. And yes– they’ll probably mention their March Madness bracket, too.

Call your legislators and tell them to get back to focusing on the pressing challenges facing North Carolinians. They can’t fix your bracket, but they sure can vote no on this bill that aims to take away one of our most sacred rights.