Contact your Michigan Congressional representatives and ask for a NO VOTE on H.R. 8281, the SAVE Act, which will disenfranchise many adopted people of the right to vote, particularly intercountry adoptees who do not have available proof of US citizenship.
About the Issue | Contact Your Representative | Additional Resources
About the Issue
The SAVE Act would require all Americans to prove their US citizenship in order to vote. While the issue of noncitizen voting is rare—and also against the law—the bill nevertheless introduces unnecessarily strict requirements for people to prove their US citizenship in order to vote. In doing so, the bill will hurt millions of people who do not have easily available proof of that citizenship—such as a birth record or a US passport. In particular, it will impact thousands of intercountry adopted people who don’t have passports or certificates of citizenship/naturalization and cannot obtain them easily, quickly, or inexpensively.
Contact Your Michigan House Representative
Contact Your US Representative Today to ask for a NO VOTE on the bill, which may be up for vote soon. If you don’t know who represents you, get that information here.
Contact their office and indicate that you DO NOT support H.R. 8281, the SAVE Act. Tell them that many adopted people already have issues when trying to secure US passports and that intercountry adoptees in particular may not have easily available proof of their US citizenship, despite being adopted by US citizen parents. Here is a sample message, and feel free to personalize it for your own experiences or viewpoint:
I live in [town/city]. I am your constituent. I ask that you vote NO on H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act). This bill will not advance free and fair elections. Instead, it will make it harder for people to vote and will disenfranchise millions of people who cannot easily provide proof of US citizenship. This is especially true of intercountry adopted people who are US citizens by operation of law but who have never obtained—or have a lot of trouble getting— a US passport or a Certificate of Citizenship. As an adopted person myself, I ask that you do not disenfranchise thousands of adopted people in my community. Please vote NO on HR 8281, and let me know your position on the bill.
To send an email, click on the Go link next to the contact information. You should receive a contact form that the representative’s office uses (and most forms will ask you to enter your address to verify that you are a constituent). Use that form to provide your opinion on the SAVE Act. Make sure you ask them to vote NO on the bill and also ask them to let you know what their position is on the bill.
Don’t remember who represents you? All of the US Congressional representatives representing Michigan are listed below. Still don’t know who your specific representative is? Get that information here.
| Rep | District | Phone | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Bergman (R) | 1 | (202) 225-4735 | Go |
| John R. Moolenaar (R) | 2 | (202) 225-3561 | Go |
| Hillary J. Scholten (D) | 3 | (202) 225-3831 | Go |
| Bill Huizenga (R) | 4 | (202) 225-4401 | Go |
| Tim Walberg (R) | 5 | (202) 225-6276 | Go |
| Debbie Dingell (D) | 6 | (202) 225-3611 | Go |
| Tom Barrett (R) | 7 | (202) 225-4872 | Go |
| Kristen McDonald Rivet (D) | 8 | (202) 225-3611 | Go |
| Lisa C. McClain (R) | 9 | (202) 225-2106 | Go |
| John James (R) | 10 | (202) 225-4961 | Go |
| Haley M. Stevens (D) | 11 | (202) 225-8171 | Go |
| Rashida Tlaib (D) | 12 | (202) 225-5126 | Go |
| Shri Thanedar (D) | 13 | (202) 225-5802 | Go |
Additional Resources
If you need a more thorough breakdown of H.R. 8281, here are some solid resources.
- Five Things to Know About the SAVE Act (Bipartisan Policy Center)
- Millions of Americans Don’t Have Documents Proving Their Citizenship Readily Available (The Brennan Center for Justice)
- What You Need to Know About the SAVE Act (Campaign Legal Center)
Action alert for Michigan residents. Coordinated by Adoptee Advocates of Michigan (AAOM) and the Adoptee Rights Law Center.
