02/18/2026
*American Association of People with Disabilities Response to House Passage of the SAVE America Act*
For Immediate Release: February 13, 2026
Contact: Jess Davidson, jdavidson@aapd.com; 202-465-5528
Washington, D.C. – Earlier this week, the U.S. The House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296), which would create new barriers to voting by requiring all voters to present documentation proving their citizenship when registering to vote, voting by mail, or voting in person.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) strongly condemns the passage of the SAVE America Act and urges the Senate to reject this harmful legislation. This restrictive policy would prevent millions of people from accessing their right to vote and would hit historically excluded communities the hardest – voters who are disabled, Black, Latina/o, indigenous, people of color, married women whose names have changed, and/or voters in rural or low-income communities.
Policies like the SAVE America Act create new barriers to full participation in our democracy by adding administrative barriers. This is a concern for AAPD because disabled voters are already three times more likely to face difficulties when voting than non-disabled voters.
Half of American citizens – 146 million people – do not have a passport. More than 21 million American citizens, or 9% of all Americans, don’t have readily available documentation that verifies their citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization records. A recent survey found that 20% of people who self-identified as having a disability do not have a current driver’s license, and another 9% have a license that does not reflect their current name and address.
The SAVE America Act would also make it more difficult to vote by mail by requiring documented proof of citizenship when applying for and returning an absentee ballot. Voting by mail is an essential practice to make elections more accessible to disabled voters. In 2020, over half of disabled voters cast their ballots via mail. States that make voting by mail easier have seen higher voter turnout among disabled voters, such as those with permanent absentee lists, or in states like Colorado with universal mail-in voting.
“Voting is a fundamental right, not a privilege. The SAVE America Act moves our country away from its foundational principles and will make it more difficult for disabled people, rural, low-income, and voters of color to participate. Barriers to documentation and restrictive voting rules are not neutral. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, this legislation would weaken our democracy, making the voting process less accessible and our elections less representative,” said Alexia Kemerling, AAPD’s Director of Accessible Democracy.
Earlier this week, AAPD joined with cross-disability organizations in sending a letter to every member of Congress highlighting the negative impact on disability communities and urging them to oppose all active voter suppression bills currently before Congress. AAPD urges disabled voters and allies to contact their Senators today and urge them to vote “no” on the Save America Act.
***
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is a convener, connector, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As a national cross-disability rights organization, AAPD advocates for full civil rights for the over 70 million Americans with disabilities by promoting equal opportunity, economic power, independent living, and political participation. To learn more, visit the AAPD website: www.aapd.com.
