For Immediate Release: February 13, 2026
Contact: media@hispanicfederation.org
Hispanic Federation Denounces House Legislation that Blocks Millions of Eligible Voters from the Polls and Urges the U.S. Senate to Reject This Legislation
Legislation will also impose indirect fees on people wishing to vote and could block 21 million people from voting in the next election
Washington, DC – Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly voted to pass H.R. 7296, the SAVE America Act. The legislation will require voters to provide a new standard of cumbersome and costly documents to prove they are U.S. citizens before registering to vote. This legislation is imposing a poll tax on all voters by requiring voters to pay costs that could range from $30-$130 to secure any missing documents that are required, such as a birth certificate or a passport, and threatens to remove millions of citizens from the voter rolls. Below is a statement from Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation, reacting to this legislation:
“Last night’s passage of H.R. 7296 is an assault on the voting rights of every U.S. citizen. Government-led and independent reviews of previous elections have consistently shown that the U.S. has free, fair, and secure elections. Unfortunately, certain actors are using the guise of ‘election security’ to create new barriers, both in terms of fees that will need to be paid to access required documents and in terms of the time needed to find those documents. The voting barriers will make it harder for millions of eligible American citizens, including military families, women, rural voters, natural disaster survivors, and tribal voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote. This legislation reflects many of the restrictive voting policies that were put forward by President Trump’s Executive Order, policies that have been blocked by the courts multiple times and challenged by the top civil rights groups in the nation, including the Hispanic Federation.
Requiring documentary proof of citizenship, such as name-matched birth certificates or a passport, before registration will disproportionately harm naturalized citizens, women – with up to 66% lacking documents reflecting name changes – low-income communities, and communities of color. Research shows that double-digit percentages of eligible voters would find it impossible to meet these requirements. Furthermore, the legislation’s addition of extreme and unnecessary identification requirements for voting will only serve to disenfranchise our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. According to the Department of Homeland Security, there is still a sizable portion of American citizens who do not have a REAL ID – placing them in peril of not being able to exercise their right to vote.
The costs for the required documentation can be as much as a week’s worth of groceries for a single adult. This financial barrier would stop low-income communities from participating in elections; similar to a poll tax which is banned in our Constitution. The only alternative this legislation offers is for states to surrender control of their voter rolls to DHS – empowering the agency currently tearing American communities apart and violating the constitutional rights of U.S. Citizens to determine who gets to vote.
This misguided legislation will deliver a major blow to our democracy by significantly lowering voter turnout. We urge the U.S. Senate to reject this legislation and call on lawmakers to protect, not undermine, voting rights. Our democracy is strengthened when we expand access to the ballot box, not when we throw up roadblocks to fix complications that do not exist.”
About Hispanic Federation
Hispanic Federation (HF) is a nonprofit membership and advocacy organization, founded in 1990, committed to empowering and advancing the Hispanic community, with a focus on low-income, marginalized, and immigrant Latine. With programs in 43 states and territories, HF’s focus areas include immigration, economic empowerment, civic engagement, disaster relief, philanthropy, education, health, and the environment. HF also maintains ongoing public education campaigns and meets the organizational development needs of its member agencies through grant-making and capacity-building assistance.
