Hot Topic
Stop The Attack On Voting Access Today

The Trump administration and MAGA Republicans continue their attack on voter rights by limiting access to the polls. Congress has introduced a slate of bills framed as “voter ID laws.” In actuality, these laws would restrict access to polls, especially for historically disenfranchised communities. The three main voting restriction bills are referred to as the SAVE Act Bills: the SAVE Act (H.R. 22) , which stalled in the Senate, the rebranded SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296/S. 1383), and the Make Elections Great Again Act (H.R. 7300). 

Of the three bills, the SAVE America Act has the most political momentum and threatens severe restrictions that would block millions of people from voting. If signed into law, it would: 

• require in-person proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, and proof of residence for voter registration
• require a photo ID at time of voting,
• create a federal surveillance system of voters by requiring state submission of voter rolls to Department of Homeland Security on a regular basis,
• require voter lists be purged every 30 days, and
• require all mail-in voters to submit an application, with proof of citizenship, before receiving mail-in ballots. 

Historically, voter restrictions were weaponized against communities of color, especially Black and Brown communities. The SAVE America Act is no different as the requirements will disproportionately affect those already facing systemic oppression by creating additional burdens to access the right to vote. The required documents under the SAVE America Act function similar to a “poll tax” method used in southern states to prevent Black citizens from voting by creating financial burdens.  

Women, people of color, people with disabilities, trans people, people who are low income, people living in rural areas, and others will face additional barriers in exercising their right to vote. An estimated 21 million voters do not have access to a passport or birth certificate and as many as 69 million women have changed their name due to marriage. The photo ID requirement will have a significant impact on people facing financial constraints, with mismatched paperwork, and other challenges.  

The House of Representatives passed the SAVE America Act. Now, it is time for the Senate to vote. This is your opportunity to demand that our elected officials protect the right to vote. 

TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT STOP THE ATTACK ON VOTING ACCESS 

Tell your senators to oppose the SAVE Act to save the right to vote.

Top News Roundup

LGBTQ+ Health, Rights, and Justice

• A new Bureau of Prisons policy bans federal prisons from providing gender-affirming medical care or social transition care. 
• The Trump administration targets four major LGBTQIA+ health centers for providing gender affirming care by referring the clinics to be investigated by the Health and Human Services Inspector General. 
• A number of lawsuits, filed by LGBTQIA+ federal workers, challenge the Trump administration’s gender and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) Executive Orders. The 19th is tracking the lawsuits as they progress through the courts. Learn more here.
  

Access to Healthcare

• Congress passed federal funding bills that largely maintain flat funding levels for domestic HIV programs and for the global HIV response. However, the Trump administration’s past withdrawal of global health funding already caused dire consequences. 
• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from taking back $600 million in funding for HIV and health programs from four Democratic-led states: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. 
• The Affordable Care Act’s extended premium tax credits expired on January 1, 2026, which has caused women and LGBTQ+ people to face rising healthcare costs. 
• The AIDS Healthcare Foundation sued the Florida Department of Health over its recent changes to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Despite the lawsuit, Florida’s drastic changes went into effect on March 1st putting 16,000 people at risk of losing access to essential HIV medication. 

Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice

• Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services proposed catastrophic rule changes that would undermine the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace by, for example, significantly increasing out of pocket costs for some plans, limiting access to Ryan White and family planning clinics, and implementing anti-immigrant and anti-trans provisions.

• Louisiana filed a federal lawsuit to stop the mailing of mifepristone, an abortion pill, which could jeopardize access to medication abortion nationwide.
• Due to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) occupation of Minneapolis, pregnant patients in Minnesota have reportedly postponed abortions, skipped healthcare, and delayed urgent follow up visits. 

Economic Justice

• The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed a federal regulation that would deny families from access to subsidized housing if one family member is undocumented. 
• Trump’s student loan limits threaten the diversity of public health programs by capping the student loan limit of degrees the administration classifies as “non-professional,” which will most impact students of color seeking to go into women-dominated fields.
• The U.S Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s global tariffs, but there’s no recourse for families that paid over $1,700 in tariff costs on groceries and goods.  

Ending Criminalization

• A federal appeals court ruled that the Pentagon can reinstate a ban on people living with HIV from enlisting in the military.  
• As part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) improperly shared thousands of taxpayer data with the Department of Homeland Security.

• The Trump administration continues to limit pathways to immigration. Most recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a memo that all refugees must get a green card within a year or “present themselves to the agency” to avoid detentions.

• We are still in the midst of a partial government shutdown, which impacts only the Department of Homeland Security, as Congress continues debating funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Election Updates

• Trump’s Department of Justice continues to demand state voter files. Most states refused the Justice Department’s unprecedented demands for the data, which includes driver’s license and partial Social Security numbers. But at least 10 states provided their full voter lists to the federal government.

• Arizona Senate Republicans are trying to pass a bill that would allow federal immigration enforcement at election locations statewide. 
• The Trump administration gained access to 2020 voting records in Georgia in their continued attempt to discredit the 2020 elections.