New version of GOP suppression bill would impose nationwide proof of citizenship, photo ID requirements
House Republicans Friday unveiled an amended version of their voter suppression bill that, if it became law, would gravely undermine the right to vote in the U.S. ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The new version of the SAVE America Act omits a mind-bogglingly restrictive provision, included in the version released earlier this week, that requires voters to show documentary proof of citizenship at the polls.
But it could still disenfranchise millions by erecting unprecedented barriers for those hoping to register, as well as by imposing a nationwide photo ID requirement for voters.
The bill revealed Saturday would require prospective voters to produce a passport or a birth certificate to register to vote. At least 21.3 million voters — around 9% American citizens of voting age — lack ready access to such documents, according to a Brennan Center for Justice analysis.
The proof of citizenship requirements would also make it more difficult to register for the millions of people who have last names that do not match those on their passports or birth certificates. That includes the approximately 69 million women who took their spouse’s last name when they got married.
Instead of requiring proof of citizenship at the polls, the bill instead mandates that Americans present photographic identification, such as a state-issued driver’s license, to cast a ballot. That’s an extreme requirement for a country that has no single, mandatory national identity card for citizens.
A 2024 study by the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement (CDCE) found that 21 million voting-age U.S. citizens lack a valid driver’s license, the most common form of photo ID in the U.S.
Notably, the new bill prohibits ID cards issued by colleges and universities as an acceptable form of photo ID at the polls. The exclusion would make it harder for students in particular to vote, as 18- to 24-year-olds are most likely to lack a photo ID beyond a student ID, according to the CDCE study.
Students, who vote mostly for Democrats, have long been a prime target of GOP voter suppression efforts.
Republicans are pursuing restrictive, anti-voting legislation under the guise of preventing noncitizens from voting, which they portray as an existential threat to the American electoral system. In fact, illegal voting by noncitizens — and fraud in general — is extremely rare.
House Republicans passed a similar, though less restrictive, version of the SAVE Act last spring. At the time, one historian described it as “the most extraordinary attack on voting rights in American history.”
Some right-wing lawmakers and President Donald Trump have called on Senate leadership to scrap the filibuster in order to ram anti-voting legislation through before the midterms. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has not given a definitive answer on whether he supports the idea.
