"The SAVE ACT Is RACIST, Because at the End of the Day It's Targeting BLACK COMMUNITIES."
The wording is a paraphrase, not a verbatim transcript from the House floor, but it captures Clarke's consistent public position — and the position of the Congressional Black Caucus she belongs to.
Clarke has not released a single-sentence soundbite with those exact words, but she has repeatedly called the SAVE Act a voter-suppression bill that will hit Black and brown voters hardest. The CBC's official statement after the House passed the bill in 2025 called it "a voter suppression bill targeting marginalized communities," and urged the Senate to reject it.
Civil-rights groups amplifying Clarke's view go further. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Urban League, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice all describe the SAVE Act as reviving "Jim Crow-era tactics."
What the SAVE Act does
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act — H.R. 22 in the 119th Congress — would require anyone registering to vote in federal elections to show documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person.
Accepted documents: a passport, birth certificate, naturalization papers, or REAL ID that indicates citizenship.
Supporters, including Sen. Mike Lee and House Speaker Mike Johnson, say it simply codifies what is already illegal — non-citizens voting — and that 83% of Americans support voter ID.
