The House of Representatives on Thursday approved the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act 220-208.
Four House Democrats broke ranks and joined 216 Republicans to pass the election integrity measure, while 208 Democrats voted against it. The four Democrats who sided with the GOP were Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Ed Case of Hawaii.
The SAVE Act is designed to help reduce voter fraud by prohibiting states from registering individuals to vote in federal elections unless they first prove that they are American citizens with approved documentation. It also makes it a crime to register someone who does not provide proof of American citizenship, and it orders states to remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.
The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.
“There’s nothing more sacred under the Constitution than ensuring that the people are able to have the voice in the election of the people that represent them in Washington and throughout the country. Once that is undermined, then people lose faith in the very institutions upon which this is built,” the Texas congressman said on the floor of the House.
The bill has received backing from proponents of election integrity.
“The only way to prevent this disenfranchisement is by requiring proof of citizenship when individuals are registering to vote to prevent such illegal votes from being cast in the first place,” Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal.
The SAVE Act had already passed the House once during the previous Congress. Senate Democrats stopped it in its tracks, but this time Republicans in the Senate may be able to attach the bill to a spending measure to get it passed over a Democrat filibuster. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, proposed that very action in 2024, although ultimately the SAVE Act was dropped from the spending bill in 2024.
Lee told The Daily Signal, “Today we are one major step closer to secure elections.”
“Democrats are panicking, working overtime to spread disinformation about the SAVE Act, precisely because they know that 83% of Americans support proof of citizenship to register to vote. I hope these Americans will join me in calling for the Senate to pass this commonsense legislation and send it to President Trump’s desk,” the Utah senator said.
Members of Congress expressed disappointment in the opposition to the election legislation.
“Voting for the SAVE Act today should have been a simple, bipartisan, ‘yes’ vote from all Members of Congress, but unfortunately, that was not the case,” Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal.
“The overwhelming majority of Democrats voted against this bill, proving that they will never stand for commonsense election reforms, such as requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to vote,” Pfluger said, adding:
You have to show an ID to open a bank account, get on a plane, drive a car, and much more. Why would the standard be any less to vote for our elected officials?
“I was proud to VOTE yes on the SAVE Act today and urge its swift passage in the Senate,” Pfluger added.
“This week, I voted in favor of the SAVE Act. This bill would ensure that only American citizens vote in our federal elections. I will work to secure our elections and keep non-citizens from voting,” Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., told The Daily Signal.
“Requiring proof of citizenship to register for federal elections is a solution to voter fraud, which is why I co-sponsored the SAVE Act that just passed the House—despite the extremists who still vote against election integrity,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. told the Daily Signal, noting another provision of Roy’s legislation:
The bill also gives states the tools to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls, and penalize officials who knowingly register noncitizens.
This article has been updated since publication.
