House Bills May Deliver Key Parts of SAVE America Act by Meeting Senate Budget Requirements

Two House bills could effectively implement the key voter integrity provisions of the SAVE America Act, an election security bill struggling to pass the Senate.

The SAVE America Act, which passed the House but not the Senate, would require government identification and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and also restrict mail-in ballots, while prohibiting men in women’s sports and transgender procedures for children.

Two new House bills would implement the act’s core provisions with federal funding for states attached, which could allow the Senate to consider passing them via the budget reconciliation process. The process, reserved for budget-related measures, requires only a majority vote for passage rather than the customary 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.

Last month, House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., reintroduced a bill requiring voters to show photo ID when voting in a federal election, while absentee voters can attach a copy of their ID to their ballot. It also creates a new grant program, administered by the Election Assistance Commission, to reimburse state and tribal governments for providing the IDs. The bill allows eligible voters who forget their IDs to cast provisional ballots.

Separately, Reps. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., and Laurel Lee, R-Fla., introduced the SAVE America Through REAL ID Act as a grant program for states to implement REAL ID cards while also requiring the use of photo ID for voting. The cards would indicate whether someone is a U.S. citizen. Lee is the chairwoman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections.

If the second bill passed, it would largely address the proof-of-citizenship and voter ID aspects of the SAVE America Act.

These grants could build REAL ID infrastructure and increase access to ID for all Americans, said Don Palmer, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a former chairman of the Election Assistance Commission.

“Federal grants to increase access to REAL ID for voting and everyday purposes will improve that infrastructure to provide identity and citizenship confirmation for registration and improve the sharing of citizenship and eligibility data between the driver’s license agencies and state and local election authorities,” Palmer told the Daily Signal.

“The verification of citizenship electronically and sharing of documentation virtually will decrease the potential hard copy documentation of citizenship,” Palmer added.

Notably, a 2005 report by the Carter-Baker Commission, a bipartisan election reform group chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, suggested using the REAL ID system for national voter ID to prevent voter fraud.

Although a voter ID proposal would not cover proof of citizenship, most polls show about 80% of the public supports voter ID.

“Americans should be confident their elections are run with integrity—voter ID is a commonsense measure to restore trust in our elections,” Steil said in a statement last month about his proposal.

“This legislation will help improve voter confidence and strengthen election integrity nationwide.”

Fedorchak, co-sponsor of the SAVE America Through REAL ID Act, said voter ID ensures only American citizens are voting.

“Democrats have spent years spreading misinformation about REAL ID requirements and claiming voter ID laws prevent participation,” Fedorchak said after introducing the bill. “This legislation directly addresses those concerns by helping low-income Americans obtain REAL ID-compliant identification at no cost. Election integrity and voter participation go hand in hand, and this bill advances both.”

Lee said the REAL ID proposal would build public confidence in elections.

“The SAVE America Through REAL ID Act removes a real barrier for low-income Americans by making REAL ID-compliant identification available at no cost because strengthening election integrity and expanding voter access aren’t competing goals, they’re the same goal,” Lee said upon the bill’s announcement.