President Paletuatoa Peniamina used a final-hours campaign statement to place voting rights at the center of his message, pledging to veto the SAVE Act if it reaches his desk and to defend the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

In the press release, Peniamina called the right to vote “sacred” and said his administration would oppose policies he described as making registration more difficult. The statement comes as the campaign enters its final hours, with cost of living, immigration and executive power also prominent issues in a tense national political climate.

Peniamina said the SAVE Act would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. He argued that such a requirement could create obstacles for married women who have changed their names, younger voters relying on student identification, seniors born at home and naturalized citizens.

“The SAVE Act is voter suppression, plain and simple,” Peniamina said in the release. “That’s not election integrity. That’s a poll tax. That’s Jim Crow in a new suit.”

The press release did not provide legislative details beyond the administration’s description of the proposal, nor did it include a response from supporters of the SAVE Act. Peniamina’s pledge means any bill passed by Congress would face a promised presidential veto.

The president also pointed to the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, saying he had signed the measure and restored protections he said were weakened in 2013. He did not specify in the release which additional provisions he would seek to expand.

“I made it easier to vote, not harder,” Peniamina said. “And I will not let them take us backward.”

Beyond opposing the SAVE Act, the administration said it supports expanded early voting, vote-by-mail options and automatic voter registration. The statement presented those measures as part of a broader voter-access agenda rather than as a specific legislative timetable.

Voting rules have become a recurring point of partisan conflict, with debates often centered on election security, registration requirements and the availability of voting methods. Peniamina’s remarks emphasized access and civil-rights protections, while using some of the campaign’s strongest language to characterize the opposing proposal.

“Voting is a right, not a privilege,” Peniamina said. “And I will defend it with everything I have.”