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While most of us were focusing on the stock market plunges, we missed that the House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act, making it harder for many Americans. But what the GOP doesn’t realize is that their party is going to be the ones hurt more by this bill. Here’s why.

As Christina A. Cassidy with the Associated Press reports “The U.S. House on Thursday approved legislation requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights group have warned could disenfranchise millions of Americans. The requirement has been a top election-related priority for President Donald Trump and House Republicans, who argue it’s needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which is already rare and, as numerous state cases have shown, is typically a mistake rather than part of a coordinated attempt to subvert an election. It’s already illegal under federal law for people who are not U.S. citizens to cast ballots and can lead to felony charges and deportation.”

So far, voting rights groups have been the ones most upset by the law, while conservatives have generally cheered this, despite the evidence concerning voter fraud. They shouldn’t. This SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act is going to help the Democratic Party. Here’s how.

First of all, “The SAVE Act’s documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration requirement, has to be verified by poll workers in person,” writes Tom Williams with Newsweek. “This eliminates people’s ability to register through any other means, making voter registration exceedingly difficult for disabled people, the elderly, college students, troops deployed overseas, rural voters, and anybody who does not have the time to line up in person to register.”

Demographics show the elderly, troops deployed overseas, and rural voters tend to vote Republican. Historically, college students have too and Trump’s approval rating with those under 30 was +5 until the second term chaos began. So the GOP will suffer from the SAVE Act in terms of voter registration. And 2026 was already looking a little dicey for Republicans, according to Larry Sabato.

But it gets worse for the GOP. For women, their names will have changed via birth certificate. As Williams points out, a passport can qualify in place. But several sites including the Center for American Progress revealed, those who are liberal are more likely to possess a passport than a conservative will hold one.

This SAVE Act is even more disastrous for Republicans when you consider that Republican women are twice as likely to change their married name to their husband’s last name than Democratic women are, according to the Center for American Progress. Just ask Democratic Party Presidential nominee Kamala Emhoff. So while Democratic married female voters will get their ballots, Republican married women will be more likely to be denied that vote.

Don’t worry, Republicans. The Senate is likely to bail out the House by filibustering it. Even if by some miracle the disastrous SAVE Act made it to Trump’s desk, the Supreme Court is likely to reject this need for many to buy a $130 passport to vote for being a poll tax of sorts.

Penalties for illegal voting are already pretty tough, as Cassidy reports. My research has found that more illegal voting occurs in states with “more restrictive” voting laws (with conservative data, I might add). Democrats and Republicans need to unite on this one to make sure every U.S. citizen, regardless of party, gets to vote. The SAVE Act will discriminate against voters who favor the Republican Party, and should be struck down.