The SAVE America Act: The consequences of restrictive voting

Attacks on voting eligibility 

The Republicans in Congress recently proposed the SAVE Act, a bill requiring proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration, along with photograph ID. This is accepted through proof of passport, and use of birth certificate. It is not disputed that citizen registration protections are important, but there are numerous other ways to ensure transparency that “don’t create new barriers for eligible voters.” (Bipartisan Policy, 2026).

This new policy sounds effective, but lacks context. In the 2024 election, noncitizen voting made up only 10 thousandths of a percent of the popular vote (Cato Institute, 2026). Noncitizen voting is not a significant issue. Noncitizen voting does not sway elections. Effective protections are already in place. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was implemented in 1993 and has done its job for decades. This act explicitly prohibits noncitizens from voting. A 2025 Time article, discussed how only 277 noncitizen ballots have been found since 2020. For reference, around 150 million people vote each election year. 

Although this act would decrease the already minimal amount of noncitizen ballots, it would prevent millions of Americans from being able to vote. Research published by the Brennan Center for Justice found that half of Americans do not have a passport and around 21 million Americans lack access to a passport or birth certificate. This number does not take into account the additional difficulties presented to married women whose last names do not match that on their birth certificates or passports. This bill creates hurdles preventing the freedom to vote, lengthening the process unnecessarily (Hansen & Burns, 2026). Democracy is most effective when all people can participate. According to the Center for American Progress (2026), these plans “would be an unprecedented move in U.S. history and an illegal attempt to interfere with the right to vote of American citizens across the nation” (para. 6). By denying access to voting rights to millions of Americans, Trump is threatening democracy to solve a nonexistent problem. 

Bibliography

Burns, E. (2025, February 5). What You Need to Know About the SAVE Act. Campaign Legal Center. https://campaignlegal.org/update/what-you-need-know-about-save-act

Greene, C. (2026, February 27). Trump Keeps Railing Against Non-Citizen Voting. Research Shows It’s Extremely Rare. TIME; Time. https://time.com/7381495/trump-non-citizen-voter-fraud-claims-research-immigration/

Miller, M. (2026, February 27). The SAVE America Act Explained: How the New “Show Your Papers” Voting Bill Is Even More Extreme Than the SAVE Act. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-america-act-explained-how-the-new-show-your-papers-voting-bill-is-even-more-extreme-than-the-save-act/

Orey, Brown, Oyola, & Menon. (2024, March 13). Four Things to Know about Noncitizen Voting. Bipartisan Policy Center. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/article/four-things-to-know-about-noncitizen-voting/

Trump’s Claims About Noncitizens Voting Are False. We Can Prove It. (2026, February 5). Cato Institute. https://www.cato.org/commentary/trumps-claims-about-noncitizens-voting-are-false-we-can-prove-it‌‌‌