Navajo Nation Formally Opposes Federal Save America Act Legislation

Picture a Tohatchi elder, born at home in the 1940s the way many Navajo people were, who has voted in every federal election for decades. Under the proposed Save America Act, that person would need to produce a birth certificate they almost certainly never had, a U.S. passport they may never have applied for, or a tribal ID that meets specific federal formatting requirements - then travel what Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley says averages 100 miles round trip to complete the process, potentially making multiple trips for registration, a primary, and a general election.

The Navajo Nation Council voted unanimously on March 26 to formally oppose the legislation, known as H.R. 7296, which would require Americans to show documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and present photo identification bearing a visible expiration date at the polls for federal races. Curley, who sponsored the tribal resolution, named the document gap directly.

"For many Navajo people, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue," Curley said. "We are thinking about our elders and grandparents, many of whom were not born in hospitals and do not have birth certificates. Under the SAVE Act, they would be required to travel long distances, multiple times, just to register to vote and cast their ballots."

The bill's expiration-date requirement creates a specific hurdle in McKinley County: many tribal IDs issued on the Navajo Nation carry no expiration date and would not qualify under the legislation as written. Obtaining a substitute document, such as a birth certificate through the Navajo Office of Vital Records and Identification, requires notarized requests, processing time, and fees, adding layers to a process that currently lets McKinley County residents register at the County Clerk's office by signing an affidavit. The county also distributes voting information in Navajo and Zuni, a localized outreach system that federal documentation mandates would not replace.

The bill, backed by President Donald Trump, remains stalled in the U.S. Senate. The Nation's unanimous vote positions Navajo leadership to press New Mexico's congressional delegation directly, including through committee testimony. Curley framed the stakes as existential for tribal political power: "The outcome of federal elections directly affects our representation, resources, and future as tribal nations."

McKinley County residents with questions about current voter registration requirements can reach the Bureau of Elections at 800-245-1771.