{"id":993,"date":"2026-07-06T18:47:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T13:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=993"},"modified":"2026-07-06T18:47:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T13:47:58","slug":"save-america-act-what-the-bill-trump-is-obsessed-with-passing-would-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=993","title":{"rendered":"SAVE America Act: What the bill Trump is obsessed with passing would do"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"zephr-anchor\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">President Donald Trump has been on a single-minded, months-long quest to try and get one particular bill \u2014 the SAVE America Act \u2014 through Congress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">It\u2019s a bill that would transform voting registration and ballot-casting across the country by creating strict nationwide requirements to prove citizenship when registering, to show photo ID when voting, and to include photocopies of ID for voting by mail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">And Trump\u2019s obsession with getting it passed has swallowed up practically everything the GOP-controlled Congress has tried to do this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">He\u2019s said he won\u2019t sign other bills \u2014 a bipartisan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/trump-scraps-housing-bill-signing-to-pressure-senate-gop-on-save-act\">housing bill<\/a>, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/clip\/white-house-event\/president-trump-says-he-wont-sign-fisa-unless-save-act-is-passed\/5201612\">Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act<\/a> reauthorization \u2014 until SAVE America gets passed. He\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/17\/us\/politics\/trump-thune-republicans-election-year-rift.html\">heaped pressure<\/a> on GOP Senate leaders to eliminate the chamber\u2019s filibuster, so SAVE America could advance with a simple majority (rather than needing 60 votes, since Republicans only have 53). He\u2019s tried to slip it into this year\u2019s \u201cbudget reconciliation\u201d bill, which can\u2019t be filibustered; when the Senate parliamentarian ruled he couldn\u2019t, he <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/5915219-trump-parliamentarian-thune-save-america-act\/\">demanded her firing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Some Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thune.senate.gov\/news\/opinion-editorials\/the-save-america-act-is-just-common-sense\/\">claim<\/a> that the bill is merely a simple, commonsense effort to close loopholes in the voter system that bad actors could take advantage of \u2014 to ensure that only citizens are actually voting and that the people showing up to vote are who they say they are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But the intensity of its support on the MAGA right goes well beyond that: The bill\u2019s strongest supporters \u2014 including the president and the world\u2019s richest man, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/19\/us\/politics\/elon-musk-john-thune-save-america-act.html\">Elon Musk<\/a> \u2014 are those who advance the false conspiracy theory that Democrats rig elections through unauthorized immigrants illegally voting, bogus mail ballots, and other malfeasance. They claim they\u2019re so desperate to pass it to stop this outrageous electoral theft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Election experts <a href=\"https:\/\/bipartisanpolicy.org\/article\/four-things-to-know-about-noncitizen-voting\/\">point<\/a> out there\u2019s no real evidence that non-citizen voting is a serious problem. \u201cAll the evidence is that <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/georgia-noncitizens-voter-rolls-14532ef49b66f9cbf34ff483d2534280\">very few non-citizens<\/a> get on the rolls, almost all those cases are accidental \u2014 and even among the people who get on the rolls, tiny percentages of them vote,\u201d says Charles Stewart III, director of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Progressives argue that, in practice, these strict requirements would make it much harder for many citizens to register, vote, and have their votes counted. Indeed, they say, that\u2019s probably Trump\u2019s true goal: to suppress Democrats\u2019 voters and make it easier for the GOP to win \u2014 or to outright steal elections like he tried to do in 2020. Michael Waldman, the president of the Brennan Center for Justice, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/analysis-opinion\/save-act-and-election-power-grab\">has said<\/a> the bill would be \u201cTrump\u2019s power grab in legislative garb.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">\u201cIt\u2019s about voter suppression: putting Trump\u2019s DHS in charge of who stays on the rolls, purging eligible voters, and blocking millions from registering,\u201d Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats-cha.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/schumer-padilla-morelle-voting-rights-advocates-reject-republicans-save\">said in March<\/a>, adding, \u201cThat\u2019s not democracy, that\u2019s election rigging.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_10sa9omj\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1wmfnm10\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1hhpe710\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49925\" id=\"dngyOmltYWdlOjQ5NDIyOQ==\"><a class=\"_1hhpe711\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"1334\" data-pswp-width=\"2000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a rally against the SAVE America Act outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, United States, on March 18, 2026\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1ssnpw50\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2266699783.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmha\">Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a rally against the SAVE America Act outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, United States, on March 18, 2026<\/figcaption><cite class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmh5\">Nathan Posner\/Anadolu via Getty I<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">What would the SAVE America Act actually do if passed? Would it fulfill liberals\u2019 worst fears \u2014 and Trump\u2019s heart\u2019s desire? Or would things not change as much as either side expects?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">What\u2019s in the SAVE America Act<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">There have been various versions of the bill since it was first introduced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.everycrsreport.com\/files\/2025-02-10_IF12902_eb4e710bc6a7f0c464fcd63a03705273ee5bea1e.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">in 2024<\/a>. (It was initially called just the SAVE Act, which stands for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. This year, Trump decided to rebrand it as the SAVE America act, even though that makes little sense with the acronym.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But the core has remained consistent: strict new requirements for proving citizenship when registering to vote and proving identity when voting (including by mail). These would entail:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _10sa9omi uyby7v0 pn04iq1\">\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>Proof of citizenship for voter registration (or for updating registration)<\/strong>: Currently, most states do not require proof of citizenship for registration, so this would be a major change. Proving citizenship is not as easy as showing a driver\u2019s license. Instead, it can be done by presenting a passport. Alternatively, a voter could show either a birth certificate or naturalization papers in addition to a government-issued photo ID (like a driver\u2019s license).<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>Strict photo ID requirements to vote in person<\/strong>: States vary on whether they require voters to show ID at all and on which sorts of IDs are accepted. The bill\u2019s requirements <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsl.org\/state-legislatures-news\/details\/9-things-to-know-about-the-proposed-save-america-act\">would be stricter<\/a> than those of most states; it would notably exclude student IDs from state universities (which some states currently accept). An earlier version of the bill would have required proof of citizenship for voting (not just registration), but this was dropped in the House-passed version.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\"><strong>Mail voters would have to provide photo ID or identifying information: <\/strong>Typically, states with widespread mail voting send ballots to voters\u2019 addresses and accept returned ballots with a signed affidavit. The House-passed bill says that the voter should submit a photocopy of their ID, as well \u2014 or, if they can\u2019t obtain one, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.factcheck.org\/2026\/03\/qa-on-the-save-america-act\/\">they can<\/a> sign an affidavit and provide the last four digits of their Social Security number. Trump has repeatedly said he <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116193527873859174\">wants the bill<\/a> to go further and ban almost all mail voting (except for special exceptions such as military service). <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The bill would also require states \u2014 and empower the federal government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security \u2014 to try and purge any non-citizens from the voter rolls. Basically, states would have to run every registered name through DHS, so DHS can flag purported non-citizens for removal (though voters would then have a chance to contest this decision). It also would impose criminal penalties on state election officials who register someone lacking documentary proof of citizenship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">On top of all that, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116193527873859174\">wants to<\/a> jazz the bill up by playing his culture war hits: banning trans women from women\u2019s sports and banning gender reassignment surgery for minors. (He calls this the \u201cfull version\u201d of the bill.) But these were not included in the version of the bill that passed the House earlier in February.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Since its House passage, the bill has been stuck in the Senate for months, held up by the perennial problem for a narrow Senate majority: the filibuster. The GOP\u2019s 53 senators aren\u2019t close to the 60 necessary to advance the bill, and several of them are refusing to support a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2018\/12\/21\/18151744\/nuclear-option-explained-senate-trump\">nuclear option<\/a>\u201d rules change that would ram it through anyway. So, despite Trump jawboning and threatening Senate Republicans for months, the bill hasn\u2019t moved forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">Why does Trump want this bill so badly \u2014 and what would its impact actually be?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">For years, Trump has claimed that elections he or his party loses were somehow rigged or stolen. Even in his first presidential victory, where he won the Electoral College, he maintained that he should have won the popular vote, as well, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/ap-report-trump-advances-false-claim-3-5-million-voted-illegally\">only failed to do so<\/a> because of millions of unauthorized immigrants voting illegally. And he justified his attempt to stay in power after losing in 2020 with various false claims that Democrats stole the election for Joe Biden. There has long been a debate about whether Trump truly believes this, was opportunistically lying, or was adopting beliefs convenient to him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But the claim that Democrats and \u201cillegals\u201d regularly rig elections in cities and blue states had been common on the right long before Trump entered politics. Indeed, the GOP\u2019s push for state voter ID laws \u2014 and the Democrats\u2019 argument that such laws are, in fact, partisan plots meant to disenfranchise young and nonwhite voters who\u2019d be less likely to have such IDs \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2012\/10\/29\/the-voter-fraud-myth\">goes back decades<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">In an earlier era of American history, rigging and ballot-stuffing by party machines was known to happen. But in recent decades, there\u2019s been no evidence of large-scale rigging of the sort that Republicans allege (though there have been certain cases of organized fraud in local races and in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/elections\/four-people-plead-guilty-north-carolina-ballot-probe-2016-2018-electio-rcna49534\">a rural North Carolina congressional race<\/a> in 2018).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Many Democrats and advocacy groups fear instead that the bill would be a disaster for voting rights \u2014 that its strict requirements would, in practice, inevitably lead to many legitimate voters being wrongly blocked from voting. There are darker fears, too, about the centralization of authority to review voter rolls with Trump\u2019s DHS and whether all this would be a prelude to Trump trying to steal another election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_10sa9omj\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1wmfnm10\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1hhpe710\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.45138\" id=\"dngyOmltYWdlOjQ5NDIzMg==\"><a class=\"_1hhpe711\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"3044\" data-pswp-width=\"4418\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\"Signs greet voters at the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company vote location in Ruckersville, Va., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1ssnpw50\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-1229443432.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmha\">Signs greet voters at the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company vote location in Ruckersville, Va., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020<\/figcaption><cite class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmh5\">Bill Clark\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Partisans and their allied advocates have long hyped up the effects of voter ID laws as being great for Republicans and horrible for Democrats (and widespread mail-in voting as having the reverse partisan impact). But Republicans have frequently managed to implement voter ID requirements at the state level, and nonpartisan experts and studies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w25522\">have<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nd.edu\/news\/voter-id-laws-mobilize-voters-in-both-parties-rather-than-sway-election-results\">often<\/a> found much less dramatic partisan impacts in practice from that and from <a href=\"https:\/\/siepr.stanford.edu\/publications\/policy-brief\/how-does-vote-mail-change-american-elections\">different vote-by-mail rules<\/a>. Voters, campaigns, and parties can adjust to new rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Polls consistently show that voter ID requirements <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/americans-support-photo-id-vote-democrats-oppose-save-america-act-rcna259549\">are overwhelmingly popular<\/a>, and Democrats\u2019 reluctance to support it does put them on the wrong side of public opinion. Indeed, considering that \u2014 and considering the Trump-era re-sorting of the parties\u2019 coalitions, in which upscale, educated voters more likely to have an ID handy have moved toward Democrats \u2014 some in the party have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/22346812\/voting-rights-bill-hr1-for-the-people-act\">quietly questioned<\/a> whether these bills would really hurt them so much.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Still, the SAVE America Act would be voter ID on steroids, beyond what has been implemented in states. The <a href=\"https:\/\/bipartisanpolicy.org\/article\/do-documentary-proof-of-citizenship-requirements-disadvantage-one-party-more-than-the-other\/\">Bipartisan Policy Center estimates<\/a> that more than 20 million eligible voters lack easy access to a passport or a birth certificate. However, those people wouldn\u2019t all be disenfranchised overnight, since the proof-of-citizen requirements are for new registrants or for those updating registrations (due to, say, moving or a name change).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Stewart, the director of the MIT election lab, said that evidence from Arizona \u2014 which now requires citizenship proof for state and local elections \u2014 suggests young people newly registering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/analysis-opinion\/arizonas-show-your-papers-requirement-hurts-voters\">have the toughest time<\/a>. So, if the SAVE America Act were implemented he said, \u201cthere\u2019s a good chance that a nontrivial number of 18 to 22 year olds would be cut out of the upcoming election.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">At the very least, there\u2019d certainly be a chaotic adjustment period, as many of the bill\u2019s requirements would go into effect immediately, without any funding to help states implement them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">And, of course, there are very valid reasons to distrust what the Trump administration might get up to if they gain more power over voter rolls, given their prosecutions of political enemies, the involvement of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/02\/05\/politics\/tulsi-gabbard-georgia-trump-fulton\">in investigating Georgia ballots<\/a> and, of course, Trump\u2019s conduct in 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">For now, the bill remains stuck in the Senate. But the issue isn\u2019t going away. Trump has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/trumps-frustration-grows-as-senate-gop-leader-keeps-saying-no-c37da65f\">increasingly frustrated<\/a> with Majority Leader John Thune\u2019s inability to get the bill through, and a right-wing challenger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/06\/29\/rick-scott-senate-gop-trump-00978732\">could use<\/a> the issue to contest Thune\u2019s leadership after the midterms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">And whether the bill ever passes or not, the false claims of large-scale non-citizen voting \u2014 and elections being rigged against the GOP \u2014 are central to the party\u2019s mythology in the age of MAGA. The SAVE America Act will remain as the bill that Trump and the right claim could have stopped all that \u2014 if only it had been passed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump has been on a single-minded, months-long quest to try and get one particular bill \u2014 the SAVE America Act \u2014 through Congress. It\u2019s a bill that would transform voting registration and ballot-casting across the country by creating strict nationwide requirements to prove citizenship when registering, to show photo ID when voting, and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2230151652.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C12.197818814146%2C100%2C75.604362371709&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}