Married women are warning that the SAVE Act is a backdoor disenfranchisement effort
A growing number of TikTok videos are expressing concern about the future of married women's right to vote in America.
"Me showing up to the 2028 polls as the only woman in my family who can vote because I'm the raging liberal who didn't take my husband's last name," states one video that has amassed more than 800,000 views.
@jeniofalltrades Now more than ever I value my autonomy hahaha #fdt ♬ original sound - I Green Screen Things
"My partner and I have been married for a little over a year now and I was going to get around to changing my last name eventually, but now I don't think that I will," commented one user.
"I told my husband I am going to go back to my maiden name after 23 years if this passes," echoed someone else.
What is the SAVE Act?
The concern on TikTok stems from the SAVE Act, which, if passed, would require would-be voters and those updating their registration to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person.
While citizenship is already a requirement to vote, the legislation aims to assuage right-wing concerns about illegal, noncitizen voting—that data indicates is extremely rare. Such concerns were frequently cited in false conspiracies about widespread voter fraud costing President Donald Trump the election in 2020.
Under the SAVE Act, only an enhanced driver's license—which is only available in five states—would be a driver's license that is sufficient for registration purposes. A REAL ID alone is insufficient.
Americans could also use a passport or birth certificate to prove citizenship. However, voter advocacy organizations point out that nearly 146 million Americans do not possess a passport and that most married women change their last name, rendering their birth certificate insufficient evidence of citizenship.
"As many as 69 million American women do not have a birth certificate with their legal name on it and thereby could not use their birth certificate to prove citizenship," the Center for American Progress (CAP) notes. "The SAVE Act makes no mention of being able to show a marriage certificate or change-of-name documentation."
CAP likewise notes the bill would be more likely to disenfranchise lower-income Americans, who are less likely to hold passports, as well as Republican women specifically—given that they are more likely to change their last name, and also less likely to hold a passport.
Nowhere in the bill are married women who changed their last name banned from registering to vote.
The bill previously passed the House but did not make it through the then-Democrat-controlled Senate. The current legislation has yet to pass the House.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who reintroduced the bill, dismissed concerns about the bill alienating married women and others, calling it "absurd armchair speculation."
"The legislation provides myriad ways for people to prove citizenship and explicitly directs states to establish a process for individuals to register to vote if there are discrepancies in their proof of citizenship documents due to something like a name change," Roy told Newsweek in a statement.
Still, concerns about the bill's language prompted TikTokers to issue misleading warnings.
"If you are a woman that has changed your name from your birth certificate, let's say through marriage and you took your husband's name, you are no longer eligible to vote if this bill passes the Senate," one viral TikTok video incorrectly claimed.
Cautious TikTokers are now advocating for women to avoid changing their last name—and encouraging married women to revert to their maiden name.
"We need to keep our original name! please don't change it if you marry," commented one TikTok user.
"If they think I won’t go and change my last name back they are highly mistaken," replied someone else.
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