(The Center Square) – The U.S. House passed legislation Wednesday night that would implement comprehensive election security reforms nationwide, sending it over to the Senate for approval.
The SAVE America Act would require Americans to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote, necessitate in-person voter registration for federal elections, and require states to remove all noncitizens from their voter rolls.
Under the legislation, people would not be able to register to vote with only their driver’s license, since noncitizens can obtain that. They would instead need to present documents proving U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport.
“We require ID for everyday activities like buying cold medicine or boarding a flight. Voting should be no different,” U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Fla., said on X. “It’s a commonsense step to protect confidence in our system.”
The bill passed 218-213, with one Democrat supporting it.
Democrats have called the legislation an act of voter suppression, given that federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting.
“They’re trying to say this is a voter ID bill. That’s not what’s happening here,” Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said Wednesday. “This is election rigging. This is voter suppression. The American people aren’t going to stand for it.”
A majority of Americans actually support the voter ID measure. In the The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll conducted in October, 70% of voters said they either strongly support (48%) or somewhat support (22%) requiring voter ID at the polls, while 23% either somewhat oppose (10%) or strongly oppose (13%) requiring it. The poll of more than 2,500 registered voters (including 978 Republicans, 948 Democrats, and 639 Independents) is among the most comprehensive in the country.
But since some Americans might not have access to a passport or their birth certificate, Democrats argue, the bill will simply make it harder for veterans, the disabled, minorities, and women who change their last names to register to vote.
“The so-called SAVE America Act will potentially disenfranchise millions of Americans,” Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said on social media. “It is nothing more than the culmination of Republicans’ ridiculous and shameful attempts to make it harder for people to vote.”
Republicans say the changes, if implemented nationwide, will increase voter confidence in the validity of federal election results and consequently improve turnout.
The Center Square’s Voters’ Voice poll from October also found that nearly half of young adult voters surveyed had “not very much confidence” or “no confidence at all” that the 2026 midterm elections will be conducted fairly.
“Making sure that it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat is a core principle,” Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., told lawmakers. “As we instill election integrity in our system, we will see more people participating because they will have faith in our elections.”
Unless GOP leadership in the Senate tweaks filibuster rules, as many Republicans have recently advocated, the SAVE America Act is unlikely to become law due to the filibuster.
