House passes Trump-backed bill requiring voters to show photo ID before casting ballot

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation that would require Americans to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote and present photo identification before casting a ballot.

The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act passed in a 218–213 vote. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was the only Democrat to vote in favor alongside Republicans.

President Trump voiced strong support for the bill over the weekend, urging “all Republicans to fight” for the SAVE Act in a Truth Social post, where he argued that the nation’s elections are “Rigged, Stolen, and a Laughingstock all over the World.”

“We are either going to fix them, or we won’t have a Country any longer,” the president wrote.

The SAVE Act, which was previously approved by House lawmakers last year, would also require states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls and establish criminal penalties for registering applicants who fail to present proof of U.S. citizenship for federal elections.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), the bill’s sponsor, spoke in favor of the legislation on the House floor ahead of the vote.

“Our Founders set forth our electoral processes 250 years ago, based upon the simple and ultimate principle that only Americans should vote,” Roy said. “But in this age of progressive, suicidal empathy, basic concepts such as voter ID and proof of citizenship have been attacked as suppression.”

Roy pointed to polling that shows broad public support for voter ID laws. According to a Pew Research survey, 83% of U.S. adults support requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote, including 71% of Democrats and 95% of Republicans. Sixteen percent oppose such requirements.

Critics of the bill argue that it could disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly women who change their names after marriage and individuals who may not have ready access to documents such as birth certificates.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) described the bill as “Jim Crow 2.0” in an interview with MS NOW earlier this month.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told ABC’s “This Week” that the legislation could prevent citizens without the required identification from voting. “It’s still going to be something that disenfranchises people that don’t have the proper real ID, driver’s license ID, that don’t have the ID necessary to vote even though they are citizens,” he said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) criticized the bill during a press conference Monday, saying, “Republicans have adopted voter suppression as an electoral strategy. That’s what the so-called SAVE Act is all about.”

Jeffries also said the current version of the bill is “worse than” the previous version, which had received support from four House Democrats.

The SAVE Act now heads to the Senate, where it would require 60 votes to advance before reaching President Trump’s desk for his signature.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) acknowledged the challenge ahead. “Nothing in the Senate’s an easy move. This one’s certainly not,” he told reporters.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has indicated there is not enough support within his caucus to eliminate the 60-vote threshold, which would make passage easier. Lee and other lawmakers have discussed the possibility of a talking filibuster in an effort to advance the bill.

“[If] we want to do this, this is how we have to go about it,” Lee said.