Connecticut Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas urged Connecticut residents to protect the state’s election system and stand up for democracy in response to the U.S. House of Representatives passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act earlier today.
Her statement comes just two days after she appeared before Congress, warning members of the House Subcommittee on Elections that the federal mandates in the SAVE Act would destabilize voter security and undo the years of thoughtful bipartisan progress and planning that help make Connecticut’s election system so strong.
“Our laws, like our elections, should protect the rights of all citizens. The SAVE Act imposes senseless mandates that, instead of securing our elections, would leave many voters without the ability to cast a ballot,” said Secretary Thomas. “The legislation would actively undermine, rather than support, ballot box access and security that states like Connecticut provide. It is bad for Connecticut, bad for voters, and bad for taxpayers.”
The SAVE Act would impose stringent proof of citizenship requirements for both new voter registrations and changes to a voter’s name or address. Online and mail-in voter registration would be eliminated, as the registrant would be required to physically present their birth certificate, U.S. Passport, or one of the other qualifying documents to their local registrars of voters for verification.
Voter registration could only be done in person, and it would require election workers without any formal training to cross-check and verify voter registration information against federal databases. Municipalities would pay significant fees to access these databases, something they cannot afford to do, Secretary Thomas said. And for election workers who may inadvertently make a mistake, there is the threat of stiff penalties, including jail time.
These unfunded mandates would likely strain Connecticut’s elections systems. Only a handful of municipalities have full-time registrars. The remainder of towns have registrars who work varying hours, some as few as one hour a week or by appointment only. Also, unlike states with centralized county election offices, each Connecticut town funds its own elections.
In addition, access to Connecticut’s voter file is currently strictly limited—only designated personnel can modify and add data, ensuring that voter records remain secure and accurate. To meet SAVE Act requirements, newly hired staff—who may not have the expertise to properly navigate these databases—would be granted access to highly sensitive voter information. This not only increases the risk of mistakes in voter records, but also creates vulnerabilities that could be exploited, whether through human error, cyber threats, or potential misuse of data. Compounding this security issue is a practical one.
“Rather than imposing one-size-fits-all federal rules, the federal government should recognize Connecticut’s success in securing elections while maintaining accessibility,” Thomas said. “The new or proposed federal requirements would not only disrupt our system but would potentially disenfranchise thousands of voters, particularly those who already face barriers to participation. Connecticut has demonstrated that election security and voter accessibility are not mutually exclusive. We urge policymakers to respect state sovereignty and protect the rights of all voters, which the SAVE Act does not do.”
Secretary Thomas urged voters to contact Connecticut Senators Blumenthal and Murphy and implore them to fight the SAVE Act in the Senate.
“Connecticut voters aren’t asking for more voting rules,” she added. “We want our elections to be safe and open to all citizens, without artificial roadblocks that disenfranchise voters in the name of overblown security concerns.”
Photo by Liam Enea – https://www.flickr.com/photos/190109359@N08/52607456726/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=127777675
