Q: Is it true that under the SAVE Act married women will not be able to register to vote if their married name doesn’t match their birth certificate? A: The proposed SAVE Act instructs states to establish a process for people whose legal name doesn’t match their birth certificate to provide additional documents.

A claim circulating on social media suggests that married people who changed their last name will face difficulties when trying to vote under the proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

Under the SAVE Act, many rural Americans would be forced to drive hours and cross hundreds of miles to show documentation of citizenship, in person, in order to register to vote. Some would be forced to drive as many as eight hours and make interstate journeys.

For married women who take their spouse’s name (or husbands who do the same), this could present a problem if they lack a passport. When someone changes their name after getting married, they are not issued a new birth certificate.