President Paletuatoa Peniamina said he would veto the SAVE Act if it reaches his desk, describing the proposal as a serious threat to voting access and comparing it to historic discriminatory barriers to the ballot.

In a press release, Peniamina said the legislation would require people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. He argued that such a requirement could create obstacles for eligible voters whose identification documents do not match their current names or are difficult to obtain.

“The SAVE Act is voter suppression, plain and simple,” Peniamina said. “It would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.” He specifically cited married women who have changed their names, young people with student identification, seniors born at home, and naturalized citizens as groups he said could face added difficulty.

Peniamina called the measure “the most dangerous voter suppression legislation in a generation” and said it was not an election-integrity policy. “That’s not election integrity. That’s a poll tax. That’s Jim Crow in a new suit,” he said.

The president also pointed to his signing of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which he said restored protections weakened in 2013. The press release did not provide further details about the SAVE Act’s legislative status, its full text, or its supporters’ arguments.

Peniamina framed the promised veto as part of a broader commitment to voting rights. “Voting is a right, not a privilege,” he said. “And I will defend it with everything I have.”

The statement comes amid a polarized national political climate in which election administration, voting access and confidence in public institutions remain high-salience issues. Peniamina’s remarks are likely to sharpen attention on the proposal, though the practical effect will depend on whether the measure advances through Congress and whether supporters can assemble enough votes to overcome a presidential veto.