HB 5337 and SB 16 would require proof of citizenship to vote in Texas. Similar legislation dubbed the “SAVE Act” has passed the U.S. House.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2025
CONTACT: Emily Witt (she/her), emily@tfn.org
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House Elections Committee yesterday heard public testimony on House Bill 5337, legislation that would require people registering to vote to submit documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport. A companion measure, Senate Bill 16, mirrors these requirements.
Texas Freedom Network Political Director Rocío Fierro-Pérez (she/her) issued the following response:
“HB 5337 is an emergency for democracy in Texas. This bill, along with its companion SB 16, would throw up massive barriers to voter registration and silence the voices of thousands of eligible Texans, not by accident, but by design. This is a deliberate strategy to make registering to vote so confusing, so intimidating, and so legally risky that people simply give up.
“Seniors, low-income Texans, students, and naturalized citizens would be swept up in the chaos this bill creates. These are the communities Texas politicians have long tried to push out of the democratic process. There is no widespread voter fraud in our state. What we do have is a long and shameful record of voter suppression. This legislation would take it to the next level by criminalizing registration mistakes and forcing Texans to produce documents many don’t have readily available, just to get on the voter rolls. Lawmakers must reject HB 5337 and SB 16 before they do irreversible harm to Texans’ constitutional right to vote.”
HB 5337 was left pending in committee at the time of this sending. If passed out of committee, it will go to the Texas House floor for consideration. Senate Bill 16, the bill’s identical companion, has already passed the full Texas Senate and has been referred to the Texas House Elections Committee for a hearing.
As these state-level measures regarding proof of citizenship for voting are debated in Texas, similar national legislation dubbed the “SAVE Act” has passed the U.S. House. The measure has garnered widespread criticism from voting rights advocates who say the bill would create more barriers to the ballot box for countless voters, including married people and women who have changed their last names.
