House GOP pushes strict proof-of-citizenship requirement for voters
ahead of midterm elections
[February 12, 2026]
By LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on
Wednesday that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements
ahead of the midterm elections, a long shot Trump administration
priority that faces sharp blowback in the Senate.
The bill, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE
America Act, would require Americans to prove they are citizens when
they register to vote, mostly through a valid U.S. passport or birth
certificate. It would also require a valid photo identification before
voters can cast ballots, which some states already demand. It was
approved on a mostly party-line vote, 218-213.
Republicans said the legislation is needed to prevent voter fraud, but
Democrats warn it will disenfranchise millions of Americans by making it
harder to vote. Federal law already requires that voters in national
elections be U.S. citizens, but there’s no requirement to provide
documentary proof. Experts said voter fraud is extremely rare, and very
few noncitizens ever slip through the cracks. Fewer than one in 10
Americans don't have paperwork proving they are citizens.
“Some of my colleagues will call this voter suppression or Jim Crow
2.0,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., presenting the package at a
committee hearing.
But he said “those allegations are false,” and he argued the bill is
needed to enforce existing laws, particularly those that bar immigrants
who are not citizens from voting. “The current law is not strong
enough,” he said.
Election turmoil shadows the vote
The GOP's sudden push to change voting rules at the start of the midterm
election season is raising red flags, particularly because President
Donald Trump has suggested he wants to nationalize U.S. elections,
which, under the Constitution, are designed to be run by individual
states.
The Trump administration recently seized ballots in Georgia from the
2020 election, which the president insists he won despite his defeat to
Democrat Joe Biden. The Department of Justice is demanding voter rolls
from states, including Michigan, where a federal judge this week
dismissed the department's lawsuit seeking the voter files. Secretaries
of state have raised concerns that voters' personal data may be shared
with Homeland Security to verify citizenship and could result in people
being unlawfully purged from the rolls.
“Let me be clear what this is about: It’s about Republicans trying to
rig the next election,” said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top
Democrat on the Rules Committee, during a hearing ahead of the floor
vote. “Republicans are pushing the Save America Act because they want
fewer Americans to vote. It’s that simple.”
The legislation is actually a do-over of a similar bill the House
approved last year, which also sought to clamp down on fraudulent
voting, particularly among noncitizens. It won the support of four House
Democrats, but stalled in the Republican-led Senate. Only one Democrat,
Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted for the revised bill.
This version toughens some of the requirements further, while creating a
process for those whose names may have changed, particularly during
marriage, to provide the paperwork necessary and further attest to their
identity.
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Voting booths are set up at a polling place in Newtown, Pa, April
23, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
It also requires states to share their voter information with the
Department of Homeland Security, as a way to verify the citizenship
of the names on the voter rolls. That has drawn pushback from
elections officials as potentially intrusive on people's privacy.
Warnings from state election officials
The new rules in the bill would take effect immediately, if the bill
is passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law.
But with primary elections getting underway next month, critics said
the sudden shift would be difficult for state election officials to
implement and potentially confuse voters.
Voting experts have warned that more than 20 million U.S. citizens
of voting age do not have proof of their citizenship readily
available. Almost half of Americans do not have a U.S. passport.
“Election Day is fast approaching,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski,
R-Alaska. “Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are
deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election
integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new
policies likely without the necessary resources.”
The fight ahead in the Senate
In the Senate, where Republicans also have majority control, there
does not appear to be enough support to push the bill past the
chamber's filibuster rules, which largely require 60 votes to
advance legislation.
That frustration has led some Republicans, led by Sen. Mike Lee of
Utah, to push for a process that would skip the 60-vote threshold in
this case, and allow the bill to be debated through a so-called
standing filibuster — a process that would open the door to
potentially endless debate.
Lee made the case to GOP senators at a closed-door lunch this week,
and some said afterward they are mulling the concept.
“I think most people’s minds are open,” said Sen. John Kennedy,
R-La., “My mind's certainly open.”
But Murkowski of Alaska said she is flat out against the
legislation.
“Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the
authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of holding
federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington,
D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska,” she said.
Karen Brinson Bell of Advance Elections, a nonpartisan consulting
firm, said the bill adds numerous requirements for state and local
election officials with no additional funding.
“Election officials have a simple request of Congress — that you
help share their burdens not add to them,” she said.
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