Opinion: Leaders who crave power will do anything to avoid giving it up

Americans won’t be fooled by the rhetoric around the SAVE America Act. Politicians in Washington are selling it as a bill to protect election integrity, but in reality, it’s a federal takeover of elections, a new hassle for millions of eligible voters who will now have to unearth their birth certificate or pay for a passport, and a tool to protect those in power from accountability. And everyday Americans get the trick Washington is trying to play on them: 79% of Americans say the government has gone too far in restricting free speech, and only 17% trust Washington to do what’s right most of the time.

Their concern is justified even if they’re not glued to C-SPAN as the Senate has debated whether every American should have to produce citizenship documents to register to vote, or if the constitution was wrong when it gave the responsibility to run elections to states, and if an administration that has craved power from day one should be given even more of it to decide which Americans should be able to vote and how.

For millions of Americans, this is not an abstract policy. It is a real obstacle.

For the married woman who took her husbands’ last name and will now have to bring her birth certificate, marriage license, and name change paperwork every time she registers or updates her voter registration.

For the service member and their family that has packed and unpacked their lives countless times as they move from place to place in service to their country.

For any of the millions of rural Americans who will no longer be able to register to vote through mail or online, and will now have to drive hours to the nearest registration location just to register.

For the hourly worker who will have to weigh whether they can take time off to track down documents and stand in line.

Our government doesn’t need to nanny those people – they are adults who handle difficult choices daily – but at the same time, our government should not be making their lives even harder.

And while Americans are struggling with the cost of groceries, gas, and housing, this is what Washington is prioritizing.

That’s not a distraction. It’s a strategy.

Because the SAVE America Act is not just about voting rules — it’s about power. Who gets it. And who gets shut out. Senate Majority Whip John Thune said passage is a top priority because it will help ensure Democrats don’t win the next election. The bill is a clear tool to protect those in power and tilt outcomes in their favor. And if the Republicans cannot pass this bill, which seems increasingly likely, they may very well use it as a pretext for challenging election outcomes they don’t like.

Trump has demanded this legislation be passed, but the SAVE Act isn’t the only way this administration is attempting to weaponize the federal government to undermine faith that our elections can be trusted and maintain power. Federal agents recently raided a Georgia elections office, seizing voter rolls and ballots tied to President Trump’s 2020 loss — reopening settled outcomes and casting doubt on future elections. ICE’s investigative arm has launched a probe into Arizona’s 2020 election, despite state officials confirming there is no basis to relitigate the results.

Meanwhile, the FBI and IRS announced a new joint task force to investigate progressive nonprofits for domestic terrorism, giving the Trump Administration a new weapon to punish organizations they oppose by labeling them as “domestic terrorists.”

Taken together, these actions are unmistakable: more barriers to voting, increased doubt about settled elections, and an unmistakable threat that if you disagree with his policies, the President will have you labeled a terrorist are not isolated incidents. They are part of a coordinated strategy to concentrate power, punish perceived opponents, and make it harder for ordinary Americans to hold leaders accountable.

My generation grew up believing that democracy works best when more people have a voice — and can freely use it. That leaders are accountable to voters, not the other way around.

The SAVE America Act, and the broader pattern surrounding it, moves us in the opposite direction.

Leaders who crave power will do anything to avoid giving it up.

They protect it. They expand it. And when necessary, they rewrite the rules to keep it. The question now is whether Americans — who already see what’s happening — will accept it.