WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday to pass the Save America Act, a sweeping election bill that President Donald Trump is pushing Congress to enact.
The vote was 218-213, with Republicans voting unanimously in favor and all but one Democrat voting against it. One Democrat voted yes, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas.
The 32-page law requires states to obtain documentary proof of citizenship, such as a U.S. passport or birth certificate, in order to register to vote in federal elections.
The bill, amended from a previous version to include new demands from Trump, requires voters to show photo identification to vote in person. And it slaps new rules on mail-in ballots, requiring voters to submit a copy of a valid ID when requesting and casting an absentee ballot.
“It’s common sense. Americans need an ID to drive, to open a bank account, to buy cold medicine, to file for government assistance,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters. “So why would the voting be any different?”
Democrats say the law is designed to alienate Americans, noting that it is already illegal and very rare for non-citizens to vote. Current law requires voters to prove their citizenship under oath, with criminal penalties for violators.
“This is a desperate attempt to distract Republicans,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters. “The so-called SAVINGS Act is not about voter identification, it’s about voter suppression. And they have zero credibility on this issue.”
Jeffrey and other Democrats noted that the GOP bill comes after Trump said he wants to “nationalize” elections and “vote in at least — at most, 15 places.” That violates the Constitution, which gives states authority over the “time, place, and manner of holding elections” for federal office. Democrats also noted that the FBI has seized ballots and voter records from Fulton County, Georgia, as Trump continues to falsely claim to have won the 2020 election.
Republicans say requiring some form of voter ID is popular. A Pew Research Center poll last August found that 83% of American adults favor “requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote.” That includes 71% of Democrats and 76% of black voters, which some Democrats and liberal advocates claim will disenfranchise.
Bill — Rep. Sponsored by Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah — now heads to the Senate, where it faces a challenging path. Republicans control 53 seats, and some of them are skeptical or outright opposed to the law.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, came out against it this week, telling her GOP colleagues they were against mandating federal elections to states as recently as 2021.
“When Democrats tried to advance comprehensive election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in their opposition because it would have led to a federal election, which we have long opposed,” she said. “Now, I’m seeing proposals like the SAVINGS Act and MEGA that could effectively do just that. Again, I don’t support these efforts.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said her office believes the revised version of the bill is problematic.
“Senator Collins supports the law and the constitutional interpretation that only American citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections. She also supports voter ID. That’s why she supported the Basic Savings Act,” a Collins spokesperson told NBC News. “There were problems with the Save America Act because it went too far beyond these core principles, and we hope those issues are being addressed by the bill’s authors and the House.”
And Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the former GOP leader who led the charge against Democrats’ failed voting-rights package in 2021 and 2022, has long insisted he believes elections should be run by states without federal interference or mandates.
Even if it wins a Senate majority, the bill lacks 60 votes to break a filibuster because Democrats strongly oppose it.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. said “the proposal would impose Jim Crow-type laws across the country and is dead on its way to the Senate.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday that Republicans are “robustly” discussing the measure, offering their support for it and promising to bring it to a vote.
“How we’re going to get to that vote remains to be seen,” Thune said, making it clear that Senate Republicans would strongly oppose removing the 60-vote threshold despite the president’s demand. “There’s nowhere near a vote — not even close — to nuke the filibuster.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
