I voted for the first time on my 18th birthday. I navigated my wheelchair through a community center in Maryland, entering the building and voting without any accessibility issues. I remember being so proud to participate in the civic process on the very first day I could. But not all disabled people have such an easy voting experience due to persistent accessibility challenges at the polls. 

As Congress considers the SAVE America Act, short for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, an underexplored aspect of the debate is that it would disproportionately harm disabled voters. The SAVE America Act passed in the House on Feb. 11, and this week is the second week of debate on the bill in the Senate. Disabled people already face a variety of barriers to voting and consistently vote at lower rates than nondisabled people. This trend will only become more extreme should these voting restrictions become law.

According to a U.S. Election Assistance Commission report conducted by Rutgers University, nearly 69% of nondisabled people voted in 2020, compared to nearly 58% of disabled people. The report also found that disabled voters experience significant challenges that could dissuade others from attempting to vote, such as inaccessible polling locations, lack of assistance, and voting machines that are difficult for disabled people to use.

The provisions of the SAVE America Act that add extra barriers to voting could further depress the turnout of disabled voters. The SAVE America Act requires potential voters to show proof of citizenship to register and to present voter identification at the polls. Research from the Brennan Center for Justice indicates that 21.3 million voting-age people, representing 9% of the voting-eligible population, lack easy access to their birth certificates, passports, or other documents demonstrating citizenship. More than 3.8 million people do not have these documents in their possession at all.

Driver’s licenses are a common form of photo ID that could fulfill the stricter registration requirements under the SAVE America Act, but disabled people are more likely not to have a current license. The Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland determined that 20% of people who identify as disabled don’t have a license, compared to 6% of nondisabled people. There are forms of photo ID other than a driver’s license, such as a state ID, but obtaining any sort of identification adds a burdensome step to what should be a simple process. 

The SAVE America Act would also add complicated requirements for voting by mail, like providing a scanned copy of a photo ID. Disabled voters are more likely to vote by mail than their nondisabled counterparts, according to a report by the Election Assistance Commission. Voting by mail allows disabled people to cast their ballots without worrying about accessibility issues at polling locations or needing to find transportation. 

The SAVE America Act faces an uphill battle in the Senate because it would require 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster, even if all Republicans vote to pass it. But even if it doesn’t pass, President Donald Trump has already promised to issue an executive order instituting a national voter ID requirement. Some Trump-aligned activist groups are even preparing a draft executive order declaring a national emergency to give Trump more control over elections. 

To be clear: Trump can’t unilaterally change voting policies, since the Constitution grants the power to determine voting procedures to each individual state. But just because that power is not within Trump’s legal authority doesn’t mean he won’t try anyway. Executive orders aside, I anticipate that the SAVE America Act won’t be the last voting restriction bill introduced by this Congress, since Republicans are doing everything in their power to make voting harder before the 2026 midterm election. 

Voting rights for disabled people should not be a partisan issue. In fact, a Pew Research Center study shows that the political party affiliation of disabled voters mirrors the party affiliation of nondisabled voters. And disability is not a small minority; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one in four adults in the U.S. have some type of disability. 

When voting rights are stripped away, it hurts all Americans. The SAVE America Act and other similarly harmful legislation must not become law because they will add barriers that will decrease voting access.

In order to ensure access to the polls, more must be done to make voting easier for disabled people. This includes enforcing accessibility requirements for in-person voting, training poll workers on how to support disabled voters, expanding mail-in voting, and more. Since clearly there will be no improvements on the national level anytime soon, it is up to the states to take the lead in making the electoral system more accessible.

I hope that one day all disabled people can show up to vote and feel the same sense of pride in participating in an accessible democracy that I have since my 18th birthday.

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