Fact check: Would SAVE Act requiring birth certificate to vote prevent married women from voting?

WASHINGTON, DC: In early January, President Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers to pass the legislation known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Following this, a rumor circulated across social media claiming that the SAVE Act would make the majority of married women, who took their husband's last name, ineligible to vote. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.

Claim: The SAVE Act would prevent married women from voting

In January 2026, several social media users claimed that the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, would prevent the majority of married women from voting.

An X user wrote, "The SAVE Act is a direct attack on the 19th Amendment! By requiring certified birth certificates, it disenfranchises MILLIONS of married women who've changed their names. It’s a blatant attempt to roll back progress & silence women's voices! #StopTheSaveAct." 

Similarly, another post on X read, "ALARM: Trump is pushing Republicans to ram the SAVE ACT through, a Project 2025 voter-ID bill that requires voters’ current names to MATCH their birth certificates. About 79% of married women take their spouse’s name. This could disenfranchise MILLIONS." 

Meanwhile, a post on Facebook mentioned, "Republicans are now pushing the SAVE Act, which would require voter ID to match your BIRTH CERTIFICATE, making about 79% of women (who took their husband's last name) INELLIGIBLE TO VOTE." 

"Don't let them erase YOUR RIGHT to self-determination. What's next...no ability to have your own bank account or credit card, it's only been 50 years...," the post added.

Interestingly, since 2024, social media users have spread claims about the SAVE Act and its possible effects on women's voting rights. 

Fact Check: False, The Act would not prevent married women from voting

Rep Chip Roy, who introduced the bill in January 2025, in an emailed statement to Snopes last year, dismissed allegations about the SAVE Act disenfranchising women and other voters as "absurd armchair speculation being spun up by media outlets who care more about clicks than reality."

The GOP Rep pointed to language in the legislation directing 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." 

The bill requires documentary proof of American citizenship to register to vote, which is, for many Americans, a birth certificate. However, if an applicant uses a birth certificate to prove citizenship, they must present it alongside a government-issued photo ID.

The SAVE Act was passed by the House in 2024 and in 2025. However, it is not a law at the time of filing this story. The POTUS can sign the SAVE Act into law only if both chambers of Congress pass it.