March 18, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: We all want only qualified voters to vote in our elections. We want to prevent the unqualified from voting because that would be unfair. But the “SAVE Act” is not the answer.
At the present time, the federal government is requesting voter information from various states. And what will be done with such information if it is provided? Suppose influential government authorities decide to eliminate from the enfranchised voting lists those with whom they disagree.
If the names of targeted individuals are then forwarded to the Department of Homeland Security (among other agencies), that agency — for whatever reason — may declare a citizen to be a noncitizen, one who can no longer vote in public elections.
Suppose it is a mere “clerical error” that is “adjusted” after the election. The result will be the same: that individual will have been denied the vote, and if many others are “handled” in this manner, the election results can easily be manipulated by this power in the hands of a federal government agency — the Department of Homeland Security. Is this hyperbole or a hoax? Read for yourself from the proposed bill: “ (4 ) P R O G R A M DESCRIBED.—A State may meet the requirements of paragraph (3) by establishing a program under which the State identifies individuals who are not United States citizens using information supplied by one or more of the following sources: “(A) The Department of Homeland Security through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (‘SAVE’) or otherwise.” RONALD E. GRAVATT Buena Vista
