A threat to the right to vote across the United States
What is the SAVE America Act?
It is a legislative proposal that seeks to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote or updating their voter registration (e.g., changing their address after moving or party affiliation). It also implements stricter photo ID requirements for voting. This threatens to disenfranchise millions of voters.
What documents would be accepted?
Acceptable documentary proof and eligible photo identification documents include:
Individuals must register to vote in person. When voting in person, you must present physical proof of ID. For absentee voting, you will be required to submit a photocopy of your ID.
What Impact Would It Have on Voter Registration?
REAL IDs, state and tribal IDs, driver's licenses, and U.S. military ID cards often don’t indicate U.S. citizenship. In practice, voters would need a valid U.S. passport or their original birth certificate to register to vote, update their voter registration, or cast their ballot.
However:
In addition to individuals who cannot count on a U.S. passport or their birth certificate, other groups would be harmed by the requirements of this legislation, including:
What does existing law currently say?
Federal law already bars non-citizens from registering to vote or casting a vote, and punishes a non-citizen who commits these actions with up to five years in prison. Furthermore, current requirements ask voters to provide either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver's license number. These documents can verify a person’s identity and eligibility to vote.
Eligibility verification: a purge of registered voters?
The bill also requires states to verify the eligibility of people on their voter registration lists against the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database. This database has a history of inaccuracy and of falsely flagging people as non-citizens.
Furthermore, the bill's text is ambiguous regarding a state's obligation to notify a person of their removal and that person's right to contest it. This could result in someone discovering that they have been excluded only when they try to vote.
Where does this proposed bill currently stand?
An earlier version of the bill passed the House of Representatives last year, but did not move forward in the Senate because it failed to secure the 60 votes needed to end debate and proceed to a final vote—a requirement known as the filibuster. The bill was reintroduced earlier this year and passed the House of Representatives on February 11, 2026. It is currently being debated in the Senate for final approval.
Although the bill does not have the votes needed to pass, a group of Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration are pressuring Senate Majority Leader John Thune to force Democrats to resort to a talking filibuster, a tactic in which a senator or a group of senators takes the floor of the Senate and delivers lengthy speeches for several hours or days to prevent the bill from being put to a simple majority vote.
