A new leaked recording obtained from a private Election Integrity Network strategy call from February 2025 captures Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) – the lead sponsor of the SAVE Act – acknowledging that his bill creates a documentation barrier for married women who changed their names. Fair Fight Action has reviewed the leaked footage and determined its legitimacy.
In the recording, Roy admits his own chief of staff faced the exact bureaucratic burden the bill would impose on millions of other American women – forcing her to go through “hoops” and make multiple trips to the DMV due to all the paperwork.
On the call, Roy described the SAVE Act’s issue with married women’s last name as a fake “allegation” driven by people trying to “stir the pot” but appeared to want to bury the “issue,” saying, “...frankly, I’m trying not to elevate the issue too much.”
Republican Representatives Blocked a Fix:
On April 1, 2025 – about 2 months after Roy made the comments – Congresswoman Maxine Dexter (D-OR) brought an amendment to the House floor specifically designed to protect married women who changed their names. Congressional Republicans voted it down. The SAVE Act passed the House on April 10, 2025.
Fair Fight Action Statement:
Lauren Groh-Wargo, Fair Fight Action CEO responded with a statement.
“Let’s be clear about what this recording reveals: the SAVE Act’s sponsor knew it would make it harder for married women to vote. He admitted his own chief of staff went through bureaucratic ‘hoops’ it would force on millions of women.”
“Congressional Republicans have spent months claiming Democratic legislators ‘think women are too stupid to get an ID.’ This recording proves they know it’s about cost, time, and access. Roy said his chief of staff had to make multiple DMV trips – that’s gas money, missed work, childcare. During an affordability crisis, the SAVE Act creates a new financial barrier to voting that falls hardest on women who are already stretched thin.”
Share This Story to Help Spread the Word:
A few media outlets have covered the story. You can share those, this Substack post, or posts with the leaked footage to help spread the word.
Key Facts:
70 million married women potentially affected: According to Pew Research, roughly 79% of women who marry take their husband’s last name. Under the SAVE Act, every one of them would need documentary proof of citizenship with their current legal name to register to vote in federal elections.
Noncitizen voting is already illegal and virtually non-existent: The Heritage Foundation’s (they created Project 2025) own election fraud database documents fewer than 100 cases of noncitizen voting nationwide over the past 20+ years. The SAVE Act addresses a problem that does not meaningfully exist while creating a real barrier for millions of eligible voters.
Strongest anti-SAVE Act message with non-MAGA Republicans: New polling from Navigator Research released March 19, 2026 found that this barrier to married women who have changed their last name is the most convincing anti-SAVE Act argument among non-MAGA Republicans. 42% found it convincing. After exposure to messaging, non-MAGA Republican support for the SAVE Act dropped 7 points, from net +35 approval to net +28 approval.
Stay informed, spread the word, and make sure you’re ready to vote.
Fair Fight Team
It's so frigin dark what these creeps intend to do. We have to pay attention to every detail of this corruption and vote against it and them who authored it.
The irony is how short-term their thinking is. This legislation was just the latest way the far-right is trying to cheat their way to legislative supremacy...like the Texas gerrymander. But the Texas mess may well end up with Republicans losing seats, especially, as seems likely, if 2 or 3 of the new CD's go blue. Same with Florida, although the Palm Beach loss has brought them up short. We need to be thankful that they are so transparent...and so, well, dumb.