The Republican-controlled U.S. House passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Thursday, with 208 Democrats voting against President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict noncitizen voting.
The SAVE Act, which passed 220-208, now moves to the Senate, where it will need the support of several Democrats to reach the 60-vote barrier for passage. Democrats have rejected the plan, despite polling showing bipartisan support for voter ID laws.
A Gallup poll conducted ahead of the 2024 election indicated that 84% of respondents support requiring a photo ID to vote, and 83% support demanding evidence of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time, Fox News reported.
If passed by the Senate and signed into law by Trump, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas,’s SAVE Act would require voters to provide evidence of citizenship in person before registering for a federal election, and noncitizens would be removed from voter lists.
“After four years of mass illegal immigration facilitated by the Biden administration, it is more important now than ever to ensure only American citizens are voting in American elections. By passing the SAVE Act, House Republicans are once again proving our commitment to defending the will of the American people,” House GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer told Fox News.
Meanwhile, Democrats have refuted the claim that illegal immigrants vote in US elections.
Nineteen Democratic-led states and Democratic leaders sued the Trump administration over the election integrity executive order, which required proof of citizenship to vote in American elections.
“Noncitizens attempting to register to vote is exceedingly rare, and if they do, they face severe consequences, including fines up to five years in prison, and deportation,” Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., said on the House floor, urging her colleagues to reject the SAVE Act.
“Coupled with President Trump’s recent anti-voter election executive order, the SAVE Act would end the voter registration process for all Americans as they know it. Republicans have repeatedly failed to present any evidence that noncitizen voting at a federal level has ever affected the outcome of any election,” Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., added in opposition to what he called the “extremist anti-voter SAVE Act.”
On Wednesday, the SAVE Act passed a procedural obstacle known as a “rule vote”. A simple majority of House members was required to pass the “rule” that would allow for debate and ultimately House-wide votes on the measure.
It was submitted in July 2024 by former President Joe Biden’s administration but failed to pass through the Senate’s Democratic majority. Roy reintroduced the bill in January, believing it would be more likely to pass with a Republican-controlled House, Senate, and White House.
“The American people have spoken very clearly that they believe only American citizens should vote in American elections. There’s nothing controversial about that,” Roy said on the House floor ahead of the votes.
“This legislation is designed to restore that faith, to save our elections, to save election integrity. I’m proud to have worked on this bill with my friend, the Chairman, with my colleagues on this side of the aisle, and I would note that five of my Democrat colleagues joined us last summer to vote for this bill. Hardly a partisan exercise to say that we should protect the elections of the American people,” he added.
The law gained traction during the 2024 presidential election, with the Republican National Committee (RNC) leading voter integrity efforts in battleground areas across the country.
Trump has long backed the measure, and at a Mar-a-Lago press conference last summer, House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed Republican support for it.
Voter registration is performed at the state level, hence the rules requiring evidence of citizenship or photo ID vary by state. 36 states request or demand identification to vote. The SAVE Act would federalize the issue, requiring evidence of citizenship for voting and removing non-citizens from voter rolls.
When Virginia, led by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, attempted to remove non-citizens from the state’s voter lists, Biden’s Justice Department condemned the scheme and fought to reinstate canceled registrations.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority affirmed Virginia’s removal of approximately 1,600 persons from the voter rolls.