The Find Out Podcast

Episode: How the SAVE Act Could Cost Millions the Right to Vote

Date: February 19, 2026
Special Guest: Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL 14)

EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode tackles the controversial SAVE Act—a GOP-led bill recently passed by the House that would impose strict federal ID requirements on voters. The hosts and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood dissect the bill’s deep implications, focusing on how it would disenfranchise millions, particularly married women and working-class Americans. The discussion is irreverent, honest, passionately progressive, and features biting humor blended with policy analysis and personal stories.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS

1. What Is the SAVE Act and How Does It Work?

[00:48 – 03:57]

• The SAVE Act (recently renamed the Save America Act) would require all voters to present a passport or a birth certificate with a name that matches their voter registration exactly.
• Standard forms of state identification do not count. Even marriage certificates, usually used to connect a name change, would not qualify.
• The bill would require voter rolls to be turned over to the federal government (named “Kristi” in a tongue-in-cheek jab at Rep. Kristi Noem), further alarming voting rights advocates.

Memorable Quote:

"This is a brutal voter suppression bill that would disenfranchise over 60 million American women whose current name does not match their birth certificate."
— Rep. Underwood [00:49]

2. Why the Bill Disproportionately Harms Women and Working-Class Voters

[02:07 – 07:18, 12:06 – 12:59]

• Name Change Chaos: Married women who changed names would need a passport or updated birth certificate in their new name—often an expensive and time-consuming process.
• Economic Impact: Passports cost around $160; for an average American, that's 11 hours of post-tax work.
• Rural and Red State Impact: Twice as many Republican women change their names at marriage than Democratic women. Rural voters are less likely to have passports and live farther from registration offices.
• Not Just a "Left" Issue: The act would disenfranchise a core GOP demographic—married white women and rural voters—potentially hurting Republicans more than Democrats.

Notable Exchange:

"They are twice as likely to be disenfranchised by this piece of shit bill than Democratic women."
— Host C [07:15]

"This is not a partisan issue... They're hurting democracy because they're serving Donald Trump."
— Host C [07:50]

3. Is This a ‘Poll Tax’ and Is It Even Constitutional?

[05:07 – 06:21, 12:59 – 15:42]

• The requirements functionally create a poll tax, disproportionately impacting those least able to pay.
• The hosts and Underwood discuss likely legal challenges, noting the Supreme Court’s conservative tilt reduces hope for protection of voting rights.
• There’s deep skepticism about John Roberts and the current court’s willingness to defend constitutional guarantees.

Memorable Quote:

"I've about had it with John Roberts. I don't trust him... I have no confidence in this illegitimate Supreme Court."
— Rep. Underwood [14:27]

4. Voter Suppression as a Hail Mary for a Struggling GOP

[08:59 – 11:05, 15:00 – 16:56]

• GOP's sweeping voter suppression efforts are seen as desperation moves amid economic failures and repeated Democratic overperformance.
• Multiple Trump-era policies—Medicaid cuts, SNAP cuts, ACA tax credit rollbacks—have already alienated many rural and working-class voters.
• MAGA-dominated Republican caucus leaves no room for traditional moderates.

Notable Exchange:

"They are trying to cheat. They are trying to steal the election, and they are feeling like their backs are up against the wall."
— Rep. Underwood [08:59]

5. Advice for Voters: Get Your “Shit in Order”

[12:06 – 12:59]

• Hosts urge everyone—especially those who have changed names or moved—to gather vital documents now: birth certificate, passport, any ID linking their current name to their legal citizenship.
• Expressed deep cynicism: “Trust no Republican run government system. Like, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but that's where I'm at now.”

6. Legal and Real-World Nightmares if the Bill Passes

[12:59 – 15:44, 35:57 – 39:23]

• Stringent “chain of identity” rules: Many must track down multiple records, often in-person, for every registration update.
• No clear provision for how local offices or poll workers would handle and verify these documents, making chaos and disenfranchisement likely.
• Economic and logistical hardship is by design, locking out poorer, more transient, and already marginalized groups.
• Expect “funny business at the polls,” including potential intimidation or outright invalidation of valid votes, especially mail-in ballots.

7. Electoral Strategy and What Democrats Can Do

[16:56 – 22:17, 18:48 – 22:46]

• Underwood confirms Democrats’ best messaging is about affordability (health care, energy/utilities, home ownership, etc.), which reach independent and Republican voters alike.
• Health care and maternal health, especially for women in swing demographics, are crucial battlefronts.
• Bipartisan cooperation is gone: “That mythical traditional Republican no longer exists in the House of Representatives.”
• Even in Underwood’s not-solidly-blue district, constituents are turning against Trump due to corruption, chaos, and increasing costs.

Memorable Quote:

"We need to change the tax code so that we can protect essential programs like Social Security, [so] these Gen Alpha babies that are coming along the way... can be secure."
— Rep. Underwood [28:21]

8. Maternal Health and White Christian Nationalism

[22:46 – 27:04]

• The maternal health crisis—exacerbated by COVID-19, the Dobbs decision, Medicaid cuts—disproportionately harms Black, rural, and poor women.
• The hosts link far-right “family values” rhetoric and white Christian nationalist ideology to the gutting of social programs and restriction of reproductive rights.

Quote:

"...this whole trend of them all having babies right now, it's very strange. Let's call it 21st century eugenics."
— Host C [26:42]

9. Tax Policy, Oligarchy, and Social Inequity

[27:04 – 30:19]

• Forbes’ report: the wealthiest men (e.g., Musk, Larry Page) give a minuscule fraction of their wealth to charity, undermining arguments that philanthropy can replace public services.
• Underwood calls for repeal of permanent tax breaks for billionaires, to fund and expand essential programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Quote:

"We are not counting on the oligarchs and their generosity to get us out of this mess."
— Rep. Underwood [29:04]

10. How Unworkable the SAVE Act Actually Is

[35:57 – 38:43]

• If passed, the law would require a complicated, poorly defined, and underfunded process for “chaining” identity documents.
• The poorest Americans—unlikely to have passports or the resources/time to get one—are targeted most directly.
• Every move or name change could trigger a renewal of the whole “citizenship documentation” cycle. A logistical “clusterfuck” and “voter suppression” by design.

11. Potential Backfire and the 2026 Election

[39:39 – 40:26]

• The effort may ultimately suppress GOP base voters at higher rates than Democratic ones, possibly triggering huge Republican losses.
• Democratic base may be more urban, stable, and motivated, less likely to be caught out by requirements.

Quote:

"This could be the end of maybe dozens of Republican careers—if not 50 or 60 or 70—if they support this, because it's going to backfire on them very badly. And we will make sure it does."
— Host C [40:16]

NOTABLE QUOTES & MOMENTS (with Timestamps)

• [00:49] “This is a brutal voter suppression bill that would disenfranchise over 60 million American women…” (Rep. Underwood)
• [05:28] “Well, it is a poll tax, right? It is a poll tax, absolutely.” (Rep. Underwood)
• [07:15] “They are twice as likely to be disenfranchised by this piece of shit bill than Democratic women.” (Host C)
• [14:27] “I've about had it with John Roberts. I don't trust him...” (Rep. Underwood)
• [26:42] “Let's call it 21st century eugenics. Because they're...making policies...that allows only those people to have babies and get power and get money and vote.” (Host C)
• [29:04] "We are not counting on the oligarchs and their generosity to get us out of this mess. We have to create laws and policies that are equitable, that lift up working people..." (Rep. Underwood)
• [35:27] “Real ID doesn't work.” (Host D)
• [40:16] “This could be the end of maybe dozens of Republican careers—if not 50 or 60 or 70—if they support this, because it's going to backfire on them very badly.” (Host C)

PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR LISTENERS

• Get documents in order (birth certificate, passport) if there’s any risk the law could pass.
• Start planning for election day assuming worst-case scenarios.
• Engage friends/family, especially in red states, about these requirements and the real risk of disenfranchisement.
• Call your senators—especially Republicans—and voice opposition to the SAVE Act.

HOSTS’ STYLE & TONE

• Blunt, irreverent, laced with humor and the occasional expletive (“piece of shit bill”).
• Deeply skeptical of the courts and Republican motivations.
• Direct advocacy for progressive action, engaging directly with listeners.

CLOSING REMARKS

• Congresswoman Underwood urges listeners to follow her at @RepUnderwood and continue fighting for a multiracial democracy.
• The hosts announce an upcoming live State of the Union response show, promising informed, humorous, and community-centric commentary.

For anyone concerned about voting rights, democracy, or the upcoming 2026 election, this episode delivers a thorough—and at times hilarious—primer on the dangers posed by the SAVE Act, with actionable advice and a defiant optimism that voter suppression efforts can and must be resisted.