President Donald Trump has vowed not to sign any bills into law until he passes the Save America Act, ramping up his pressure campaign to get the bill on a broad ballot across the finish line before this fall’s election.
The bill’s fate is unclear in the Senate, where it lacks enough support to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold. Republicans in the Senate are divided over how to pass it and whether it can overcome Democratic opposition.
Voter impersonation and noncitizen voting — the problems the legislation is intended to address — are already illegal and extremely rare, but the implications for American citizens and election officials are far-reaching. Millions of Americans are thought not to have ready access to the documents needed to prove citizenship, and the quick implementation of the bill could overwhelm election officials as they try to hold midterm elections.
At the same time, Trump has repeatedly misstated the contents of the legislation in his public pitches and called for additions to the bill that would make those claims real.
Here’s what’s in the bill and what’s not.
What the Save America Act does
Proof of citizenship is required to register to vote
The bill would require Americans to show documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote — a US passport, or a driver’s license paired with a person’s proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, naturalization certificate or adoption letter.
Most people have to show that proof in person at the elections office, although the law allows states to make certain accommodations for disabled voters. That provision, effective immediately, will complicate voter registration in the months leading up to midterm elections.
People who have changed their name, like many women, still need more documentation to prove their identity – marriage certificates or divorce papers.
Those provisions would take effect immediately if the bill becomes law, making voter registration more complicated in the weeks before the midterms. Primary elections have already begun in some states and the general election day is less than eight months away.
Photo ID is required to vote
The bill would require voters to show photo IDs to vote in federal elections. For most people, that means showing a driver’s license at the polls, but some other ID cards are accepted, including military IDs and tribal identification cards if they meet certain requirements, such as photos and expiration dates.
People voting by mail are required to submit photocopies of relevant identity documents.
According to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, the list of acceptable IDs is more restrictive than existing law in all but one state, Ohio.
That provision may cause problems for some citizens. According to a report by the Native American Rights Fund, many tribal ID cards do not have expiration dates and student ID cards are not acceptable.
Proponents argue that such IDs are increasingly needed in everyday life, including flying.
The photo ID provision will not come into force until 2027.
States are required to seek non-citizen voters
The bill mandates procedures to remove non-citizens from voting. States are required to submit their voter rolls to the federal SAVE database, which aims to help officials identify non-citizen voters. Election officials in at least 23 states have already begun putting some or all of their voter rolls into the database, which initial reports have found has high error rates.
All states are required under federal law to conduct voter roll maintenance, which involves removing a handful of noncitizens who accidentally made it onto voter rolls due to a misunderstanding or clerical error.
And while some noncitizens are on the voter rolls, naturalized citizens sometimes get caught up in the hunt for noncitizen voters.
What the Save America Act does not do
Trump has repeatedly misrepresented the contents of the bill, clearly and by omission.
When talking about the Save America Act, he routinely says voter ID must be present in midterm elections but fails to mention that the legislation’s photo ID provisions won’t go into effect this year.
In an interview with NBC News this week, Trump said the bill would ban mail-in voting except in certain circumstances. “Illness, Disability, Military, or Travel!” He posted on social media that the only exception to
The bill would make it harder to register to vote by mail and cast ballots, require more voters to show proof of their citizenship in person and photocopy their voter ID cards when voting by mail — it doesn’t exactly stop mail voting.
They suggested it would add restrictions on gender-affirming medical care and restrict transgender participation in sports.
“There is no transgender mutilation surgery for children,” she said on Satya Social this week.
Some Republicans are open to those ideas, but the bill would have to be rewritten, pass the House again and then pass the Senate to become law.
Will the Save America Act become law?
That was “still unclear”, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RSD, admitted this week.
Trump is ramping up the pressure, saying he won’t sign any legislation until Congress passes the Save America Act. But the reality is: 60 votes are needed to pass such legislation through the Senate, and Republicans only have 53 seats.
Thune has repeatedly said he opposes changing Senate rules to get to the 60-vote limit. Some Republican proponents of the bill have suggested using a “talking filibuster” — think “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” — to try to wear down Democrats to hold the floor and let it pass. Thune and others insist that doesn’t work.
Thune told reporters Tuesday that he would bring up the Save America Act next week, but reiterated that he did not have enough votes to pass it.
“I understand the president has a passion to solve this problem, as we all do. … I can guarantee a debate. I can guarantee a vote. I can’t guarantee an outcome,” he said.
