CHC and Voto Latino Warn: Trump’s First 100 Days Mark Escalation in Attacks on Voting Rights

WASHINGTON. D.C. — As President Trump reaches his first 100 days in office during his second term, Voto Latino Co-Founder and President María Teresa Kumar and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Rep. Adriano Espaillat are sounding the alarm on the administration’s escalating assault on voting rights, particularly through the SAVE Act and a sweeping executive order that threatens to disenfranchise millions—especially voters of color.

“Today marks the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency, and already we’ve seen this administration double down on harmful falsehoods disguised as ‘election integrity. Instead of working to strengthen our democracy, the Trump administration has actively sought to undermine it—sowing distrust in our electoral process and pushing policies that make it harder for Americans, especially communities of color, to vote,” said María Teresa Kumar, Co-Founder and President of Voto Latino. 

“For decades, Republicans have been working behind the scenes to unfairly tilt the playing field of elections in their favor. Under the Trump administration, those efforts are center stage for all to see. Through the SAVE Act and executive orders, they want elections to be a game of ‘heads, I win; tails, you lose,’” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “Under the Republican voter suppression scheme, we all lose. We would all be permanently bound to the incompetence and bigotry in government displayed by the Trump administration in its first 100 days. That is unacceptable, and that will not happen.”

“The president and his allies are no longer hiding their efforts in attempting to suppress and silence our voices at the ballot box. The SAVE Act and the president’s executive order aimed to ‘preserve and protect the integrity of American elections’ will keep millions of voters—especially voters of color from accessing the ballot box. Not only is this an infringement on our constitutional rights, but this is a blatant assault on our multicultural America. However, we will continue to meet the moment that we are in, and continue to empower people to make their voices heard at the ballot box, because the future of our democracy depends on it.” 

Here’s how the SAVE Act and the “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” executive order threaten Americans’ fundamental right to vote:

• Latino Voters
  Thirty percent of Latinos ages 18–29 have an ID that does not reflect their current name or address, making it more difficult to register to vote—even when eligible. Many Latinos in rural areas and older Latino voters rely on mail-in registration, which would be eliminated under the SAVE Act. In 2020, 51% of Hispanic voters cast their ballots by mail. These voters already face lower registration rates, and this bill would only deepen the gap. It’s worth noting that the REAL ID Act, passed in 2005, took nearly 18 years to be fully implemented, highlighting how long it can take for identity-based policies to become accessible to the general public—especially for marginalized communities.
• Women and Individuals with Name Changes
  An estimated 69 million women and 4 million men do not have birth certificates matching their current legal name due to marriage or other changes—creating barriers to providing required documents.
• U.S. Citizens Without Passports
  Approximately 146 million Americans do not have a valid passport—one of the few documents acceptable under the SAVE Act. The cost to obtain a passport ranges from $65 to $195 per person, creating an additional financial barrier for many eligible voters.
  
• Voters Without Access to Original Documentation
  Roughly 21 million voting-age Americans lack ready access to documents like birth certificates or naturalization papers—especially those in lower-income or rural communities.
  
• Military and Civilian Americans Abroad
  U.S. citizens overseas—particularly uniformed service members, including the over 314,000 Latinos currently serving in the U.S. military—often register to vote using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) via mail, fax, or email. In the 2020 U.S. General Election, approximately 1.2 million absentee ballots were transmitted to military and overseas voters. Under the SAVE Act, these methods would no longer be valid, potentially disenfranchising thousands.

Voto Latino and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, under the leadership of Chairman Rep. Adriano Espaillat, are intensifying efforts to safeguard the voting rights of Latino communities. In the face of ongoing challenges to our democratic processes, we are committed to ensuring that every eligible Latino voter can exercise their right to vote without undue barriers. Our communities are resilient, and together, we will continue to organize, educate, and advocate to ensure that our voices are heard and our rights protected.

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Voto Latino is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of Latino voters while working to build a more inclusive and representative democracy. Since its founding, Voto Latino has registered nearly two million voters. In 2024, the organization took legal action to protect voting rights, filing multiple lawsuits in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina to safeguard access to the ballot ahead of the elections