Congressman Carter Statement on SAVE Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) released the following statement:
“My fellow Americans,
“Let me be abundantly clear: the so-called SAVE Act is not about security. It is not about election integrity. It is about suppression — pure and simple. This bill is a modern-day poll tax cloaked in patriotic rhetoric, and it represents one of the most dangerous assaults on the right to vote in a generation.
“As we sit on the House floor debating this bill — which attempts to make it more difficult for Americans to vote — I am reminded of the generations before us who bled, marched, and died to secure the right to the ballot. And now, in the year 2025, we are being asked to consider legislation that would undo that progress.
“This legislation is not only unnecessary — it is un-American. It demands burdensome documentation under the false pretense of preventing a problem that does not exist. What it will actually do is disenfranchise millions of eligible voters — particularly the poor, the elderly, students, and communities of color.
“One of the most outrageous elements of this bill is the requirement that eligible voters, who cannot readily produce certain forms of ID, may be forced to obtain a U.S. passport — at a cost of at least $130 — just to cast their ballot. Let that sink in: a $130 price tag to participate in democracy. That’s not security. That’s a poll tax. And we’ve seen it before.
“Let’s not mince words: this is the return of Jim Crow in a tailored suit.
“We have seen these tactics before. Literacy tests. Grandfather clauses. Intimidation at the ballot box. And now, voter ID mandates so stringent and convoluted that they effectively lock the ballot box for countless Americans. The SAVE Act is not saving anything. It is silencing voices.
“This bill does not protect democracy — it perverts it. It weaponizes bureaucracy to block access to the most fundamental right in a free society: the right to vote.
“Every American — regardless of party, race, or region — should rise up against this legislation. We must call it what it is: a blatant attempt to resurrect the discriminatory practices of our past and to roll back the hard-fought progress we’ve made.
“I urge my colleagues in Congress to reject this legislation with the urgency it demands. I call on the American people to remain vigilant — to speak out, organize, and vote against those who would take us backward.
“The right to vote is not a privilege for the few. It is a right for all. And we must defend it — not just for ourselves, but for the generations to come.
“This is not just a policy debate. This is a moral fight. And we cannot — we must not — lose it.”
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