The U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in the U.S. Senate pushed forward a bill Tuesday that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and a photo ID to vote, although there are long odds the law will ever become law amid bipartisan opposition.
The 51-48 vote to officially begin debate on the measure, which GOP lawmakers have dubbed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or SAVE America Act, is just the beginning of the process. Senators are expected to vote on several amendments in the coming days or possibly weeks.
But at least 60 lawmakers will be needed to end debate, a highly unlikely prospect as Democrats argue the bill would disenfranchise millions of voters.
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski was the only Republican to vote against opening a debate. North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis did not vote.
Murkowski wrote in a social media post last month that the November midterm elections were “rapidly approaching” and that implementing “the new federal requirements now, when states are already in the midst of preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to comply with new guidelines, likely without the necessary resources.”
“Ensuring public trust in our elections is the core of our democracy, but we can’t get there through federal overreach.”
Trump threatens retaliation
President Donald Trump has made passing nationwide voting changes his top early legislative priority Midterm electionseven though Republicans won unified control of the government less than two years ago.
He wrote in a social media post Tuesday morning that he planned to take action against anyone who did not support the law The House of Representatives passed last month.
“Only sick, insane or deranged people in the House or Senate could vote against THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” he wrote. “If they do this, each of these points will be used individually against the user in his/her political campaign – a guaranteed loss!”
Democrats believe millions of voters have been removed from the voter rolls
New York Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said during his speech that the legislation would require Americans to go through “a bureaucratic obstacle course unlike any we’ve ever seen in voter registration.”
Enacting the bill, he said, would result in millions of Americans being removed from voter rolls because states must maintain their list of registered voters through a “deeply flawed” Department of Homeland Security database.
“If you get kicked off the list, you may never know,” he said. “There is no obligation to inform you.”
Schumer argued that the bill is less about ensuring that only Americans vote in elections and more about addressing Republicans’ fears that they will lose at least one chamber of Congress later this year.
“It’s funny. I don’t remember MAGA Republicans screaming about a stolen election and voter fraud after the 2024 election that they won,” he said. “Well, the same rules that applied in the 2024 election will apply in the 2026 election. The only difference is that this time the MAGA Republicans know they’re in trouble politically. And now all of a sudden they’re saying the system is compromised and broken and needs to be changed. Those are all lies.”
77 cases of non-citizen voting
It is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, and anyone found guilty could face fines and up to a year in prison. Accordingly, there are only a few cases in which people who are not eligible to vote actually cast their vote analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center using data compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a particularly conservative think tank.
The BPC investigation found “only 77 cases in which non-citizens voted between 1999 and 2023” and that “there is no evidence that non-citizen voting was ever significant enough to influence the outcome of an election.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reiterated a few hours before the procedural move that “the votes are not there” to pass the bill through a speaking filibuster, a route several of his members expect him to take.
“So what we’re doing is we’re having a lively debate in the United States Senate, which I think the Senate has done in the past and probably should do a lot more,” he said. “But we will get there. Everyone will have their say. At some point we will have votes. And we will see where the votes are.”
A speaking filibuster would require Democratic senators to make a series of speeches to delay or prevent final passage. This process could keep the Senate busy for months.
Thune said he wasn’t sure when voting on amendments would begin, but he expected the process to continue “for the foreseeable future.”
“I think at least for now there will be some flexibility to see where the path leads,” he said.
Absentee voting, gender-affirming surgeries, sports
Trump has asked Republican senators want to add several provisions to the bill, including fresh restrictions on mail-in voting, a federal ban on gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth and a fresh law banning transgender women from participating in women’s sports.
Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, chairwoman of the policy committee, said she doesn’t believe the federal government should tell states how to manage mail-in ballots.
“Many states, red states and blue states, have more than a majority of votes on mail-in ballots,” she said. “So I think we have to be careful about that.”
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said he wants GOP leaders to hold a vote after debate on the SAVE America Act concludes on whether to keep the rule that requires a vote of at least 60 senators to limit debate on bills, known as the legislative filibuster.
“I think the days of the minority preventing legislation from passing are over. Because Democratic voters want their members to put an end to the law. Republican voters want us to put an end to it,” he said. “So in the end, I think it’s going to be public pressure that will eventually end the filibuster. And I would just rather get ahead of them so we can pass things like the SAVE America Act.”
Thune said during an afternoon news conference that he believes the 60-vote procedural hurdle should remain in place because “throughout history, Republicans and conservative priorities and principles have been protected far more often than Democrats.”
Photo ID
The bill would require local election officials to ensure that anyone registering to vote proves they are an American, likely by presenting a passport or birth certificate. Then, when people vote by mail, during early voting or on Election Day, they must show a valid photo ID, such as a driver’s license or military ID.
The legislation would require state governments to submit their voter rolls to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security so its officials can subject them to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system to verify that already registered people are not U.S. citizens.
The legislation does not provide any additional money or time for state or local governments to implement the changes if they go into effect.
The Bipartisan Policy Center writes in a compact one When it comes to legislation, the organization “recommends policymakers avoid major changes in an election year due to the likelihood that they will lead to administrative errors and cause confusion among voters.”
The three BPC experts who analyzed the bill said it “prioritizes expediency over precision.”
“The law goes into effect on the day it is passed, leaving no time for states to adjust processes,” they wrote. “It also requires that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission provide implementation guidance to states within just 10 days of enactment.”
Complaints
The bill would give private citizens the ability to sue election officials who register someone without proof of U.S. citizenship.
Jeffrey Thorsby, legislative director of the National Association of Counties, wrote in: a contribution on the impact of the legislation that the “liability provisions could deter poll workers and volunteers from working at a time when many counties are already facing recruiting challenges.”
“Currently, the responsibility of a non-citizen who registers or votes rests with the illegal voter,” he wrote. “The SAVE America Act proposes a radical change in the way we punish fraudulent voting.”
