(WASHINGTON, February 11, 2026) – Today, Independent Sector President and CEO Dr. Akilah Watkins released the following statement urging congressional lawmakers to vote against voter registration restrictions within H.R. 7296, the SAVE America Act. These new requirements, including a provision that would require prospective voters to provide proof of citizenship during registration, would effectively disenfranchise millions of American citizens without such documentation readily available and would impede the work of nonprofit organizations who help reach and register new voters overlooked by traditional voter registration efforts.
“Nonprofits look out for their communities in every way imaginable: they provide food, housing, education, inspiration, health care, disaster relief, and more. For more than two centuries, nonprofits have also looked out for their communities by helping Americans vote. They have undertaken this work not only because it strengthens civil society, but because voting ensures that elected officials prioritize the needs of the millions of Americans served by nonprofits.
“Independent Sector’s principles for evaluating voting policies call for increasing voter participation, preventing barriers to voting, and protecting elections to ensure trust. In consideration of these principles, we have serious concerns about H.R. 7296, the SAVE America Act, which the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider today as an amendment to S. 1383.
“While bolstering trust and confidence in our elections is a laudable goal, Section 2 of H.R. 7296 proposes to achieve this goal by requiring prospective voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, in order to register. Requiring such in-person identification would effectively end the nonprofit sector’s nonpartisan third-party registration drives. These efforts have been remarkably effective for our communities and our democracy: every year, hundreds of thousands of eligible citizens register to vote with the help of America’s nonprofits. And the voters engaged by nonprofits vote at rates 10 percentage points higher than their peers, thanks in part to the trust and long-term relationships these nonprofits bring to the table.
“According to analysis from the Cato Institute, there is no verifiable evidence that noncitizens illegally vote in detectable or impactful numbers in American elections. But research conducted by the Brennan Center has found that if the registration restrictions mandated by the SAVE America Act were passed into law, more than 20 million American citizens of voting age would be at risk of disenfranchisement due to lack of easy access to a passport, birth certificate, or similar sensitive document showing proof of citizenship. These citizens are disproportionately voters of color.
“We call on Congress to pass legislation that ensures that voting continues to be secure and trusted and that makes voting accessible to every eligible voter. Our communities are counting on a thriving democracy in order to thrive themselves, and nonpartisan voter registration efforts by nonprofits must be part of the solution.”
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Independent Sector is the national membership organization that connects, strengthens, and advocates for nonprofits and philanthropies. Learn more at independentsector.org.
Media Contact: Chloe Kessock, chloek@independentsector.org, 727-433-2972
