- Gov. Spencer Cox spoke in support of the SAVE Act which recently passed through the U.S. House of Representatives.
- The bill would require proof of U.S. citizenship from anyone registering to vote.
- Utah's lieutenant governor and Arizona's secretary of state spoke against the bill.
During his monthly press conference on Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox commented on the SAVE Act which was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is backed by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act is being promoted by Republican lawmakers as legislation that is necessary to safeguard elections and prevent noncitizens from voting, which is already illegal.
The bill, which will now go through the Senate, would require anyone who is registering to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
There are many people who have spoken out against the bill with concerns about it restricting people who should be able to vote from voting. People who have spoken against the bill include Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson as well as Arizona’s Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
“I’m very supportive of Sen. Lee and the concepts behind the Save Act. I think it’s critical, no one should want those who are here illegally voting in our elections,” Cox said.
The governor pointed out that the Utah constitution covers the parameters of voting and clearly states that only U.S. citizens can vote in Utah’s elections. He added that this bill will help make it so only citizens vote in elections.
“I think the question is, how you do that in a way that makes it so people who should be able to vote can vote and some of those details still need to be worked out, and will be worked out as it moves through Congress,” Cox said.
Lt. Gov. Henderson’s comments on the SAVE Act
One of the major arguments critics of the bill have made is saying that it would prevent married women whose last name is no longer the same as their birth certificate from voting. This concern also applies to transgender people and anyone else who has legally changed their name.
Cox said he does not believe the bill would prevent people who changed their name after marriage from voting, or make it more difficult for them to vote.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson told KSL in a statement that she also didn’t like the SAVE Act. She said the bill is “problematic and impractical on almost all points except its talking points.”
In response to KSL’s post about Henderson’s comments on the bill, Elon Musk wrote on X, “Those who oppose proof of citizenship for voting are traitors to America.”
On Thursday, Henderson posted on X to share that her office will be conducting a full citizenship audit of Utah’s voter rolls. She said that this is being done to find any changes that need to be made to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in Utah’s elections.
Arizona secretary of state does not agree with the SAVE Act
Leaders in Arizona have also had a mixed reaction to the SAVE Act. This swing state often finds itself at the heart of election controversy due to its consistently narrow election margins.
In a recent virtual press conference, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes called the SAVE Act “trash” and said it will negatively impact “American voters of all political stripes.”
“Conservative women … are more likely to have a different name on their birth certificate than on their driver’s license,” Fontes said.
“This is a direct U-turn to take us backwards to a time where narrow the scope of voters,” he said on the virtual panel, Voting Rights Lab and All Voting is Local. “This is an alleged solution that’s searching desperately for a problem and the solution is far more dangerous to the rights of American citizens.”
Three House Republicans from Arizona — Reps. Eli Crane, Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs — are listed as the bill’s co-sponsors.
Contributing: Gitanjali Poonia