Local leaders urge the U.S. Senate to pass the SAVE Act, but met with opposition

Local leaders are calling upon their U.S. Senators, urging them to pass a bill that would make it harder for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections.

On Wednesday, Tea Party Patriots Action, the nation’s largest Tea Party organization, stopped at the Lucas County Republican Party’s headquarters to encourage Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act.

Wednesday’s stop was the group’s sole Ohio visit for its Only Citizens Vote bus tour.

“We are doing this bus tour because we want to see the SAVE Act passed,” said Jenny Beth Martin, the honorary chairman of the organization. “We want to make sure only American citizens are voting in American elections.”

The bill would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote i