The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Thursday in a 220-208 vote.
The measure saw unanimous Republican support and was joined by four Democrats: Reps. Jared Golden (Maine), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Henry Cuellar (Texas), and Ed Case (Hawaii).
Republicans championed the SAVE Act as a measure to protect election integrity by preventing noncitizens from voting—a practice that is already illegal and exceedingly rare. Critics argue that the bill addresses a non-issue while creating unnecessary barriers to voting.
The SAVE Act introduces stringent requirements that critics say will disproportionately affect marginalized groups. Under the bill, individuals seeking to register or update their voter information must present documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers. This provision would effectively eliminate popular registration methods like online and mail-in systems, as well as voter registration drives.
These changes are expected to create significant hurdles for naturalized citizens, low-income voters, rural residents, and first-time voters who may lack easy access to the required documents. Married women—an estimated 69 million of whom have changed their names— could also face challenges if their birth certificates do not match their current legal names. Challenges would be the same for people within the LBGTQIA+ communities who have changed their names.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, over 21 million U.S. citizens do not have citizenship documents readily available, with nearly 4 million lacking any form of proof entirely.
The SAVE Act also poses significant challenges for military service members, their families, and other overseas voters, potentially undermining their ability to participate in U.S. elections.
Military personnel stationed abroad and their families often rely on mail or online systems to register to vote and update their voter information under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The SAVE Act would require in-person proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, effectively ending these convenient registration methods.
Absentee voting through the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), a widely used tool for military members to register and request absentee ballots, could become obsolete under the SAVE Act’s requirements.
Under this bill, election officials could face up to five years in prison or civil lawsuits for mistakenly registering voters without proper documentation—even if those voters are citizens. The measure also mandates frequent voter roll maintenance to remove undocumented individuals, which could lead to errors and disenfranchisement of legitimate voters through faulty data.
Mail-in ballots after election day would also be null and void.
The legislation now moves to the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to overcome an anticipated Democratic filibuster. Although Republicans hold a 53-seat majority in the chamber, the bill’s prospects appear slim given unified Democratic opposition.
President Donald Trump has endorsed the measure and is likely to sign it into law if it reaches his desk.
