Congress is currently debating the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE America Act, to determine whether the government will impose stricter voter identification restrictions.
The SAVE America Act would require voters to have government identification such as a passport or a birth certificate paired with a photo ID. It would also reduce eligibility for mail-in voting. The bill’s supporters package it as a “common sense” act to ensure election security, while opponents raised concerns that it would disenfranchise legitimate voters.
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, about 24.8 million voting-age American citizens do not have access to the documentation the act would require. Those with higher education and income levels are more likely to have the correct documentation.
“Registered Democrats and Republicans are about equally likely to have at least one qualifying document, but Republicans are more likely to depend on birth certificates than Democrats,” the Bipartisan Policy Center wrote.“Because birth certificates are a less reliable form of documentary proof than passports, Republicans may ultimately be more disadvantaged by documentary proof requirements than Democrats.”
Despite claims from President Donald Trump and his allies about voter fraud being a major concern, there is very little evidence of widespread voter fraud in the United States. The Brennan Center for Justice said that “every legitimate study ever done on the question shows that voting by noncitizens in state and federal elections is vanishingly rare.”
“Politicians at all levels of government have repeatedly, and falsely, claimed the 2016, 2018, and 2020 elections were marred by large numbers of people voting illegally,” the Brennan Center wrote. “However, extensive researchreveals that fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and many instances of alleged fraud are, in fact, mistakes by voters or administrators.”
Trump said that the act is his top priority, according to reporting from Politico. He said it would “guarantee the midterms” for Republicans and threatened to withhold endorsements during the midterm elections for Republicans who did not support the act.
Trump said in a social media post that this bill “supersedes everything else.”
“I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “AND NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION – GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. & PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY – ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!”
Senate Republicans attempted to sponsor an amendment that would have prevented transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. The Senate ultimately voted against the amendment on Saturday.
Despite Trump’s support of the SAVE America Act, some Republicans expressed concerns about whether it could be passed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed doubt over whether the act had enough votes and if Republicans could push it through without changing filibuster rules, which could backfire on Republicans if Democrats gained control of Congress and took advantage of the changes.
Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech that Democrats were ready to debate the bill for as long as Republicans wanted in order to hold the line and “expose it for what it really is.” Schumer called the act “suppression” and a “MAGA power grab.”
“Democrats support common sense voter ID. But this bill is not that, not at all,” he said. “So don’t lie and make it seem like that.”