Federal 'SAVE Act' risks denying thousands of Alaskans the ability to vote, Murkowski says [View all]

Source: ohiocapitaljournal.com


By: James Brooks - March 24, 2026 3:05 am



An elections bill being debated by the U.S. Senate could cost thousands of Alaskans the ability to vote in this year’s elections, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Thursday in a lengthy speech on Capitol Hill.

The SAVE America Act, supported by President Donald Trump and most congressional Republicans, is ostensibly intended to prevent noncitizens from voting in American elections, but its implementation could prevent many Americans from being able to vote.

“While disenfranchisement may not be the intent of the SAVE America Act … I think that we will see that. In fact, I fully expect it to be an outcome of this,” Murkowski said.

The act would require that voters present photo ID when they vote, and that people present documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote. That would mean presenting proof of citizenship in person at an elections office or other specially licensed state license.

“This would be a major, major departure from how most Alaskans currently register to vote,” Murkowski said.

In 2024, about 29,000 Alaskans registered to vote. Most of those — 25,000 or so — would have run into problems if the current bill had been law at that time, she said.

Most of Alaska’s voter registrations are done online or through the state’s motor-voter or PFD voter process. The bill could allow citizenship verification, but it’s not clear how that would happen, Murkowski.



Read more: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/briefs/federal-save-act-risks-denying-thousands-of-alaskans-the-ability-to-vote-murkowski-says/

Federal ‘SAVE Act’ risks denying thousands of Alaskans the ability to vote, Murkowski says
ohiocapitaljournal.com/briefs/feder...

— League of Women Voters of Ohio (@lwvohio.bsky.social) 2026-03-24T11:35:20.958Z