House Approves Legislation Mandating Citizenship Proof for Voting
The U.S. House of Representatives, under Republican leadership, passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Thursday, advancing former President Donald Trump’s initiative to prevent noncitizen participation in federal elections. The final vote stood at 220–208, with 208 Democrats opposing the measure.
With the bill now headed to the Senate, it faces a steep hurdle: the need for at least 60 votes to advance. While opposition from Senate Democrats is expected, recent polling has highlighted strong bipartisan public support for voter ID requirements. According to a Gallup survey conducted before the 2024 election, 84% of Americans favor photo ID requirements for voting, and 83% support the idea of presenting proof of citizenship during initial voter registration, as reported by Fox News.
If it becomes law, the SAVE Act—sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas—would compel individuals to verify their citizenship in person before registering to vote in federal elections. It would also direct the removal of noncitizens from voter registration rolls.
“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,” said House GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer to Fox News.
Democrats, however, have consistently pushed back on the narrative that undocumented immigrants are participating in elections.
Several Democratic-led states and lawmakers had previously challenged an election-related executive order from the Trump administration that sought to impose citizenship verification for voting, arguing it was unnecessary and restrictive.
“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,” stated Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., as she urged lawmakers to vote against the SAVE Act.
Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., criticized the measure, saying, “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,” adding that Republicans had “repeatedly failed to present any evidence that noncitizen voting at a federal level has ever affected the outcome of any election.” He referred to the legislation as the “extremist anti-voter SAVE Act.”
Earlier in the week, the bill cleared a necessary procedural hurdle, known as a “rule vote,” allowing for debate and a full House vote. Only a simple majority was required to pass that step.
Originally introduced by the Biden administration in July 2024, the proposal stalled in a Democrat-controlled Senate. Rep. Roy revived it in January, believing the changing political landscape—with Republican control of both chambers and the presidency—gave it better odds.
On the House floor, Roy asserted, “The American people have spoken very clearly that they believe only American citizens should vote in American elections. There’s nothing controversial about that.”
He continued, “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.”
Momentum for the measure increased during the 2024 presidential race, with the Republican National Committee spearheading voter integrity initiatives in competitive states.
Trump has consistently endorsed the proposal. At a press conference held last summer at Mar-a-Lago, House Speaker Mike Johnson reaffirmed Republican backing for the bill.
While voter registration is typically overseen by states—and laws vary, with 36 states requiring some form of ID—the SAVE Act would establish a federal standard by mandating citizenship verification and purging noncitizens from voter rolls.
A notable example of this dynamic played out in Virginia, where Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin sought to remove noncitizens from registration lists. The Biden Justice Department objected to the move and attempted to reinstate those voters.
Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority upheld Virginia’s removal of roughly 1,600 individuals from its voter database.