type: timeline_event
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act on February 11, 2026, by a vote of 218 to 213, with all Republicans voting in favor and all but one Democrat opposed. The bill, championed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and backed by President Trump, requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections and mandates photo identification at the polls.
Acceptable primary citizenship documents under the bill include a U.S. passport, birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Certificate of Citizenship, or Naturalization Certificate — documents that tens of millions of eligible U.S. citizens do not possess or cannot readily access. Voting rights researchers noted that the equivalent documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement implemented in Kansas prevented roughly 31,000 eligible citizens, or 12 percent of all voter registration applicants, from registering — while blocking far more U.S. citizens than noncitizens.
Constitutional scholars and election law experts broadly characterized the bill as lacking legal foundation. Courts have long held that voting qualifications in federal elections are set by the states, not Congress, and that nothing in the Constitution "lends itself to the view that voting qualifications in federal elections are to be set by Congress." The 19th News reported that the bill would have a disproportionate impact on married women who changed their surnames, as the name on their birth certificate frequently does not match their current legal name.
The bill moved to the Senate, where it faces the 60-vote filibuster threshold. As of late February 2026, Republicans hold 53 seats, putting them seven votes short. Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated on February 25, 2026 that there was "no path" to use a talking filibuster procedure to pass the bill, despite pressure from Trump and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the Senate sponsor. Democrats framed the bill as a deliberate effort to suppress voting before the November 2026 midterms by creating bureaucratic barriers to registration for eligible citizens who lack the required documentation.