House Republicans Approve Controversial Voter Eligibility Bill Ahead of Midterms
WASHINGTON — House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on Wednesday that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections. The bill, a key priority for the Trump administration, faces sharp opposition in the Senate.
The legislation, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE America Act, would require Americans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote, mainly through a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate. It would also mandate a valid photo ID before voters can cast ballots, a requirement already in place in some states.
The bill passed on a mostly party-line vote of 218-213. Republicans argue the legislation is necessary to prevent voter fraud, while Democrats warn it will disenfranchise millions by making it harder to vote.
Current Law and Concerns About Voter Fraud
Federal law already mandates that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens, but it does not require documentary proof. Experts say voter fraud is extremely rare, with very few noncitizens managing to vote improperly. In fact, fewer than one in 10 Americans lack paperwork proving their citizenship.
“Some of my colleagues will call this voter suppression or Jim Crow 2.0,” said Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) during a committee hearing while presenting the package. He dismissed such allegations as false and emphasized that the bill seeks to enforce existing laws that bar noncitizen immigrants from voting. “The current law is not strong enough,” he said.
Election Turmoil Shadows the Vote
The GOP’s sudden push to change voting rules at the start of the midterm election cycle has raised red flags. President Donald Trump has previously suggested nationalizing U.S. elections, which are constitutionally designed to be administered by individual states.
Recently, the Trump administration seized ballots in Georgia from the 2020 election — which Trump insists he won despite his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The Department of Justice has also demanded voter rolls from several states, including Michigan, where a federal judge dismissed the department’s lawsuit seeking those files.
State secretaries of state have expressed concerns that voters’ personal data could be shared with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify citizenship, potentially resulting in unlawful purges from voter rolls.
“Let me be clear what this is about: It’s about Republicans trying to rig the next election,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, ahead of the floor vote. “Republicans are pushing the Save America Act because they want fewer Americans to vote. It’s that simple.”
A Revised Version of Last Year’s Bill
This legislation is effectively a redo of a similar bill the House passed last year, which also aimed to clamp down on fraudulent voting, especially among noncitizens. That bill received the support of four House Democrats but stalled in the Republican-led Senate.
The current version further toughens some requirements and introduces a process for voters whose names may have changed — for instance, due to marriage — to provide the necessary paperwork and attest to their identity. It also requires states to share voter information with DHS to verify citizenship, a measure that has been criticized by election officials for sensitivity around privacy issues.
Warnings From State Election Officials
If passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law, the new rules would take effect immediately. Critics argue that with primary elections starting next month, this sudden change would be difficult for state election officials to implement and could confuse voters.
More than 20 million U.S. citizens of voting age reportedly do not have proof of their citizenship readily available, and nearly half of Americans do not possess a U.S. passport.
“Election Day is fast approaching,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said. “Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies, likely without the necessary resources.”
The Fight Ahead in the Senate
Although Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, there appears to be insufficient support to overcome the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. This has led some Republicans, led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), to push for a process that would bypass the 60-vote requirement and allow the bill to be debated under a so-called standing filibuster — potentially leading to endless debate.
Lee presented the concept to GOP senators in a closed-door lunch this week, and some senators expressed openness to the idea. “I think most people’s minds are open,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). “My mind’s certainly open.”
However, Sen. Murkowski is firmly opposed to the legislation. “Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of holding federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska,” she said.
Karen Brinson Bell of Advance Elections, a nonpartisan consulting firm, pointed out that the bill adds numerous requirements for state and local election officials without providing additional funding. “Election officials have a simple request of Congress: help share their burdens, not add to them,” she said.
Note: This story has been corrected to fix a statistic. Fewer than one in 10 Americans do not have paperwork proving they are citizens; an earlier version incorrectly stated that fewer than one in 10 have valid passports.
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.