WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate began debate on an elections bill that is a top priority for the President. The SAVE America Act would require ID to vote and proof of citizenship to register to vote. The President is urging Republicans to add non-elections related provisions to the measure.
Despite the lack of widespread evidence of fraud, President Donald Trump has claimed for years the US election system is not secure. Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, he’s advocating for the SAVE America Act.
“Requiring that Americans show proof of citizenship when they register to vote, and that they show photo ID at polling places,” said Sen. John Thune (R- SD), Senate Majority Leader. “That’s what the SAVE America Act would do.”
Recent polls show more than 80 percent of Americans support showing ID to vote. Senator Chuck Schumer (D- NY), said this measure would also empower the Department of Homeland Security to screen states’ voter rolls and flag suspected noncitizens for disqualification.
The President is also asking congress to take this measure a step further to include new restrictions on mail-in voting and provisions against trans athletes and gender-affirming surgeries for minors.
Senator John Fetterman (D- PA), one of the few Democrats who has not bucked at the voter ID requirement proposal, said the measure has now gone beyond that principle.
“Well, they’ve turned it into an unserious kind of a Christmas tree and attaching all these other things to it and now bashing mail-in voting that absolutely is secure,” said Sen. Fetterman.
Most Democrats argue the SAVE America Act would disenfranchise millions of American voters.
“Under the bill, Americans would have to run through an obstacle course of red tape unlike anything we’ve ever seen for voter registration,” said Sen. Schumer. “A driver’s license would no longer be enough. A military ID would no longer be enough. You would need something like a passport which most Americans do not have or a birth certificate which many Americans cannot easily find. If you cannot produce these documents, you’re out of luck, even an American citizen with every right to vote.”
