House Passes Revamped Bill To Prevent Illegal Immigrants From Voting, Senate Battle Looms

The House of Representatives passed a new version of the SAVE America Act on Wednesday evening, giving some new life to legislation that would require photo identification and proof of U.S. citizenship for voters.

The vote went largely along party lines, with every Republican who was present voting in favor of the measure. The lone Democrat to break with his party and vote for the SAVE America Act was Henry Cuellar (D-TX).

The bill, introduced by Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy and pushed by President Donald Trump, now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle to reach Trump’s desk. To pass the Senate, the SAVE Act will have to reach the 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster, meaning at least seven Democrats would have to join all Republicans in approving the bill, which is unlikely.

Recent polling shows that the vast majority of Americans support photo ID requirements for voting, but legislation mandating ID requirements has struggled to gain traction in Congress. On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also came out against the bill, arguing that it would “effectively” federalize elections, something she said Republicans have opposed in the past.

The House passed another version of the SAVE Act last year, but it stalled in the Senate. The revamped version of the bill would require voters to provide proof of citizenship along with photo ID before they cast their ballots, meaning people would have to show additional documentation such as a passport or a birth certificate.

Democrats claim that the SAVE America Act would “disenfranchise millions of Americans.” Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the bill “Jim Crow 2.0,” the same criticism Democrats used for Georgia’s photo ID law that passed in 2021.

“Millions of American citizens — millions — don’t have access to the paperwork that SAVE would require and would be in danger of getting shut out of our democracy,” Schumer said during remarks on the Senate floor on Monday. “For example, if you’re one of the 50% of Americans who doesn’t have a passport, or if you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans who can’t quickly access your birth certificate, the SAVE Act could, in effect, take away your right to vote.”

Republicans have pushed back on Democrats’ arguments, saying that U.S. citizens can obtain passports and copies of their birth certificates.

“The SAVE America Act provides multiple ways to prove citizenship, as millions of Americans do every day for work, travel, and financial transactions,” said Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who introduced the legislation in the Senate. “It’s sad that congressional Democrats are so afraid of election security that they’re willing to spread falsehoods about commonsense safeguards supported by a majority of both Republicans and Democrats across the country.”

For months, Trump has called on Republicans to abolish the filibuster, which would help them pass some of his important agenda items like the SAVE Act, but Republican leaders have pushed back. Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said, “There aren’t anywhere close to the votes, not even close, to nuking the filibuster.”

Lee told Deseret News that there could be another way to pass the SAVE Act without “nuking” the filibuster. He said the Senate could revive the talking filibuster, which requires senators to be on the floor and actively speaking to stall a vote, a move that could circumvent the 60-vote threshold needed for cloture.

“Nothing in the Senate’s an easy move. This one’s certainly not,” Lee added. “But if we want to do this, this is how we have to go about it.”