Texas Representative Chip Roy knows exactly how his own bill, the SAVE America Act, could make it harder for married women to prove their identity.
“We’ve got some folks out there that are trying to stir the pot on this allegation that it somehow is a barrier for married women to be able to vote because they’ve got to deal with getting IDs with name changes and all those things,” Roy said in newly released footage from a February 2025 Zoom meeting with the Election Integrity Network. The secretly recorded footage was obtained and released by the media group Called to Activism.
“Although frankly I’m trying to not to elevate the issue too much, my chief of staff had to go get a new ID in Virginia. Virginia’s adopted the REAL ID system, so she had to go through a bunch of hoops. She’s gonna have to go back to the DMV twice because they want the paperwork for it.”
🚨LEAKED VIDEO: We’ve obtained secretly recorded video of Republican Chip Roy ADMITTING he’s trying to hide concerns his SAVE Act hurts women voters:
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) March 24, 2026
“I’m trying not to elevate the issue… my Chief of Staff… had to go through a bunch of hoops… (and) go back to the DMV twice.… pic.twitter.com/S6XSFLJIs4
The SAVE America Act would require that Americans present proof of citizenship like a passport or birth certificate to register to vote. If a person’s current name does not match their document, they would have to provide extra documentation to provide their identity. (The REAL ID system has similar requirements to obtain state identification.)
Roy and other Republicans claim the bill will fight against voter fraud—which is exceedingly rare—but it will likely just make it harder for the some 69 million married American women who have changed their names to vote, as well as trans voters who have changed their names.
“That’s just part of the issue with how we try to set up the ability to identify people,” Roy continued in the video. Despite describing in detail the very challenge married women would face if the SAVE Act passes, he then denied the bill would create any voting hurdles for married women.
“But there’s no barriers at all to married women being able to vote,” he nonsensically concluded, failing to hear his own ignorance.
Though he had just highlighted a potential hurdle that married women may face when they register to vote, Roy claimed that “there’s no barriers at all to married women being able to vote” with the SAVE America Act.