House Passes Measure Requiring Voter ID In Federal Elections
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a revamped citizenship and voter identification bill aimed at tightening federal election rules, lawmakers said. The measure, which drew bipartisan support in the House, would require proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration in federal elections and strengthen identification requirements at the polls.
Supporters argue the changes are intended to prevent voter fraud and increase public confidence in the electoral system, Roll Call reported.
Under the legislation, dubbed the SAVE America Act, voters would need to provide documentation—such as a birth certificate or passport—demonstrating citizenship when registering for federal elections if such information is not already verified through state or federal databases. The bill also includes provisions to standardize voter ID requirements across states for federal contests.
House Republican leaders emphasized that the bill reflects widespread public backing for stronger election safeguards, citing polls showing voter support for identification measures.
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, the bill’s main sponsor, portrayed it as a crucial step to protect the integrity of the nation’s elections. He also dismissed concerns that the legislation would make it more difficult for Americans to cast their votes.
“In this age of progressive suicidal empathy, basic concepts such as voter ID and proof of citizenship have been attacked as suppression,” he said Wednesday on the floor.
All Republicans sided with the measure in the House, while only one Democrat—Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas—voted for it.
Opposition from some Democrats centered on concerns that the bill could lead to disenfranchisement of eligible voters, particularly in communities with limited access to the required documentation.
Several Democratic lawmakers said they would have preferred additional provisions to expand access to IDs and voter services.
The legislation now moves to the U.S. Senate, where its fate is uncertain. Senate leaders have indicated it will face additional debate and possible amendments.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said he expected to see “a lot of public pressure on the Senate to move that bill to the president.” Billionaire Elon Musk has repeatedly endorsed the bill on his social media platform, while conservative influencer Scott Presler has been actively promoting it on Capitol Hill this week.
Roy is correct in stating that the vast majority of Americans – Republicans and Democrats – favor requiring an ID to vote, as noted last week by CNN’s chief data cruncher, Harry Enten.
“Photo ID to vote, and the American people are with NickiMinaj. Because what are we talking about here. Take a look here, favor voter ID to vote. Look, I’ve got all this polling here going back since 2018 you’ll notice on all of it, its all north of 75 percent,” CNN’s Harry Enten said. “Seventy-six percent, 76 percent, 76 percent, 81 percent, and then 83 percent in the last year of Americans agree with Nicki Minaj, they favor photo ID to be able to vote.”
“What about by party, what’s the party breakdown?” the CNN host asked.
“Yeah. Normally, you might expect, hey, there’d be a big divide by party, with Republicans really for it and Democrats really against it. But not really here. I mean, just take a look here, favor voter ID to vote, you got 95 percent of Republicans, pretty much all of them, but even 71 percent of Democrats favor photo ID to vote,” Enten continued.
“So again, Nicki Minaj posting that on X. And what you see is that the American people, actually, it’s not really all that controversial. The American people are with Nicki Minaj, whether they are Republicans or even if they are Democrats. We’re talking about 7 in 10 Democrats agreeing with Nicki Minaj that you, in fact, should show a voter photo ID to vote.”
