With a 51-48 Senate vote, Republicans began debate on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a bill that would require citizens to produce documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. The Senate debate enters its second week today.

Senators are warning the bill could suppress the votes of potentially millions of U.S. citizens.

In a joint press release on March 18, Virginia Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner say that requiring all citizens to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to register to vote and photo identification to vote in person or by mail could make it impossible for millions of Americans to participate in elections.

“I support reasonable steps that help maintain trust in our elections, including the voter identification requirements we already have in Virginia,” the senators said. “But the SAVE America Act goes far beyond that – it is a pretext for voter suppression. Republicans continue to raise baseless fears about election fraud and noncitizen voting, despite the fact that our elections are regularly audited and have also been tested repeatedly in courts, especially after 2020. Yet, no evidence of widespread voter fraud has ever been found. This bill is yet another extension of President Trump’s fixation on the 2020 election, and part of a broader effort to undermine confidence in our democracy ahead of 2026 and 2028.”

The act would require that the name on the document used as proof of citizenship match the name on the voter’s photo ID; if it didn’t, the voter would be required to provide additional documentation establishing that the name on the proof of citizenship is their previous legal name.

Kaine and Warner noted that 40 percent of Virginians, for example, do not hold a valid passport and about two million Virginia women have birth certificates that do not include their current legal name. To register to vote, those women would need to bring their birth certificates and marriage licenses to election officials in person.

The senators pointed to a 2024 Virginia Public Radio review of court records that found zero cases of noncitizens being convicted of illegally voting over the past two decades. Similar data has been found in many other states, with little national evidence of any noncitizens voting.

The House of Representatives passed the bill on February 11 on a 218-213 vote.

At a March 17 press conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was asked for one example of fraud the SAVE America Act would have prevented. He did not provide any, responding, “Look, we’re not going to litigate all that” and falsely saying that the proposal is supported by 90 percent of voters.

President Donald Trump has made passage of the bill a top priority, believing it will help prevent Democrats from winning in the November elections. “It’ll guarantee the midterms. If you don’t get it, big trouble,” he told House Republicans on March 9.

Trump told the lawmakers that he would not sign any other legislation until it is approved. He said the same thing in a March 8 post on his Truth Social site, also insisting that the bill include anti-transgender policies and a ban on mail-in voting for everyone except the military.

“Only sick, demented, or deranged people in the House or Senate could vote against THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted. “If they do, each one of these points, separately, will be used against the user in his/her political campaign for office – A guaranteed loss!”

The bill is unlikely to receive the needed 60 votes to end debate in the Senate. “It’s a waste of time,” North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis told NBC News on March 13. “I don’t think it’s going to result in an outcome. And if you take a look at the chances of success versus the probability of failure, it’s not even close.”

Reprinted with permission from the Virginia Independent