Would SAVE Act affect married women? See Karoline Leavitt’s response

Would SAVE Act affect married women? See Karoline Leavitt's response

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says there is "zero validity" to concerns that the SAVE Act would make it harder for married women to vote, despite critics of the bill arguing otherwise.
"As far as married women who have changed their name, if they're already registered to vote, they're entirely unaffected by the SAVE Act," Leavitt said during a March 10 White House press briefing.
The SAVE America Act, or Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, is a bill that, if passed, would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to show an ID when casting their ballots.
The bill passed in the House last month, but has since stalled in the Senate. President Donald Trump, who has long supported the proposed legislation, said this week that he would stop signing bills until Congress passes the SAVE Act.
While Republicans have argued the SAVE Act is needed to safeguard elections, Democrats and voting rights advocates say the legislation would disenfranchise millions of Americans, including married women, by making it harder to register to vote and cast ballots.
Karoline Leavitt slams Democrats when asked about married women and the SAVE Act
When asked about whether the SAVE Act would make it harder for married women to vote, Leavitt called it the concerns a "huge myth" and slammed Democrats.
"The SAVE America Act does not prohibit anyone from voting, with the exception of illegal aliens," Leavitt said. "And the greatest way to disenfranchise American citizens from voting in American elections is to allow illegal aliens to vote, which is what Democrats want to do."
Watch Leavitt's response in the video at the top of this story.
It is already illegal for anyone who is not a U.S. citizen to vote in federal elections, and data shows that instances of noncitizens voting in elections is rare, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Leavitt said there is "zero validity" to concerns that the SAVE Act would affect married women trying to vote. But she also acknowledged that the legislation would create extra steps for people who have changed their name — like married women — to prove their citizenship in order to vote.
"For the small fraction of individuals who have changed their name or their address, they can still register to vote, of course, they just have to go through their state processes to update that documentation," Leavitt said, adding that Americans are "already doing it every day."
How would the SAVE Act change voting for married women?
Under current laws, many Americans need to present some form of identification to register to vote. The SAVE Act would specifically require Americans to show proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, when they are registering to vote.
This would mean that married women who have changed their surname would have to show citizenship documents that match their current legal name.
Because a passport or birth certificate may reflect a previous legal name, the legislation would add a new barrier to voter registration for those, such as many married women, who have changed their name, according to the League of Women Voters and Brennan Center for Justice.
Nine percent of Americans, or more than 21 million people — including those who don't have a passport and those without a paper copy of their birth certificate — don't have those documents readily available, according to research from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.