by Edwin Quinabo
President Donald Trump’s voting bill—the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act — could substantially alter federal voter registration and voting procedures ahead of this year’s midterm election. The measure may also result in the disenfranchisement of millions of eligible U.S. citizens, voting rights advocates say.
The SAVE America Act would require Americans to prove their citizenship in person by presenting documentation when registering to vote, re-registering, or updating their voter registration. The bill would recognize only a U.S. passport or a birth certificate as proof. It would also require the name on a birth certificate to match the voter’s current legal name—a provision that could disproportionately affect women who have changed their last name after marriage.
More than 140 million American citizens do not possess a passport and as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.
Trump prioritizing the SAVE Act
Trump has made the SAVE America Act his top legislative priority, urging Republicans to move it forward as the midterm elections near. He has also said he will not sign other legislation until the measure becomes law. Trump says his support for the bill is driven by his claims of widespread voter fraud and his stated aim of making elections more secure and fair.
“They have to get it done,” he said of the Senate. “If it takes you six months — I’m for not approving anything. … I don’t think we should approve anything until this is approved. It will guarantee the midterms. If you don’t get it, big trouble, my opinion. It’s actually a matter in a serious way of national survival. We can’t have these elections going on like this anymore,” Trump said.
Status of the SAVE Act
The SAVE America Act was already approved by the House with a vote of 220-208 in favor, including unanimous support from House Republicans and four Democrats.
It is currently being debated in the Senate awaiting a vote possibly after the congressional Spring break recess. Majority Leader John Thune said he will call it up for vote while Democrats threatened to filibuster—a maneuver that allows senators to extend debate and block a vote unless 60 senators agree to proceed. Meanwhile, the president is increasing pressure on Republican senators to abolish the filibuster and pass the bill with a simple majority (50+%).
Stop non-citizens from voting
Trump has consistently said there is widespread voting by non-citizens. He believes the SAVE America Act’s goal is to stop this. “I’m asking you to approve the SAVE America Act to stop illegal aliens and others who are unpermitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections. That cheating is rampant in our elections. It’s rampant,” he said.
Trump claimed that millions of illegal votes cost him the popular vote against Hillary Clinton. And four years later, he alleged that Biden carried key states because of tens of thousands of non-citizen votes.
Are non-citizens voting really rampant?
Critics of the SAVE America Act say it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal U.S. elections, and that research and recent state investigations have shown that non-citizen registration and voting occur only very rarely.
Recent investigations in Louisiana, Utah and Iowa show non-citizens votes account for just a sliver of registered voters and a miniscule fraction of ballots cast. Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said that an ongoing investigation had found 390 non-citizens on the state’s voter rolls. That number represents roughly 0.01 percent of the 2.9 million registered voters in Louisiana.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said, “We have not yet encountered anyone who voted illegally,” about her office’s review of the 2.1 million people on the state’s voter rolls. “I anticipate that the vast majority of these 486 are in fact citizens and just need to update their information,” Henderson said.
The Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR), a nonpartisan group that advises state and local election officials, says states often overstate the number of registered voters flagged as possible non-citizens during preliminary reviews of voter rolls, figures that some states release publicly before completing full investigations. CEIR found that early reports alleging large numbers of noncitizen registrants or voters are “almost certain to be a misleading overestimation” of records with unconfirmed citizenship.
Virgie Casino, Waipahu, said, “The SAVE America Act is not about stopping illegal aliens from voting which I doubt is even a problem. It’s yet another anti-immigrant tool in this administration to get Trump’s base to keep supporting him. The midterm election is critical for Trump. Without the Republicans winning both chambers in Congress, Trump can no longer push his agenda. The SAVE America Act is really the SAVE Trump Act and it’s bad for democracy and elections.”
Federico Magdalena, Kapahulu, is puzzled by Trump’s reasoning. He said, “Trump wants to clamp down on illegal immigrants with that move [pushing for the SAVE America Act]. It does not make sense.”
Support for strengthening Voter ID
Polls show the country is divided on the SAVE America Act. Fifty-one percent of respondents in a UMass Amherst national poll show support for proof of citizenship to register to vote in future elections. They strongly or somewhat support the measure. A stronger majority, 64%, said they support requiring all voters to present government-issued identification to vote.
The latest poll is based on responses from 1,000 individuals collected between March 20 and 25. The margin for error for the poll is 3.5%. According to the poll’s findings, 55% support making mail-in voting available to all voters, which is against one of the SAVE America Act’s features.
Critics of the Act say while there is support for strengthening voter ID – a reasonable idea for most Americans – it goes too far. REAL Driver’s License already requires proof of citizenship and a social security card in most states. Requiring a US passport or birth certificate to register to vote is costly and will only deter voting.
Senator Mazie Hirono (HI) posted on her X account, “The SAVE Act is NOT about strengthening voter ID. It’s a way for this regime to steal upcoming elections. Republicans want to silence MILLIONS of eligible voters by making it harder to register to vote. And married women, you’re one of the SAVE Act’s perfect targets.”
Hirono explained that the name on a birth certificate may not match a married name, potentially complicating voter registration under the SAVE Act. She joined a coalition of Senators in sending letters to the Secretary of the Interior, warning that the Act could lead to mass disenfranchisement and further depress voter turnout.
She adds on her website, “For tens of millions of Americans, producing these documents is not a small hurdle. It is a huge barrier.”
Rep. Ed Case was one of four Democrats to vote for the SAVE Act. His vote drew criticism from Democrats and voting-rights advocates, but Case said the bill sets uniform national standards and includes identification most eligible voters have, adding that concerns about voter suppression are overstated.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said before the Senate floor, “The SAVE Act would function as a modern-day Jim Crow, disenfranchising millions of Americans. As Americans struggle with high costs, fewer jobs, and endless chaos from Donald Trump, House Republicans are choosing to spend their time on federalizing Jim Crow. Republicans bristle, the right-wing bristles, every time I say that the SAVE Act is Jim Crow 2.0. They don’t like it because sometimes the truth hurts. While the specific policies may have changed since the days of the Jim Crow South, the goal of the SAVE Act is the same: disenfranchising American citizens and making it harder for eligible people to vote, particularly low-income Americans and people of color.
“This is the truth: the SAVE Act is not a mainstream bill whatsoever. It’s a fringe piece of legislation that has now taken over the Republican party, masquerading as election security when it’s really about laying the groundwork to meddle in the midterm elections, and make it much harder for people to vote,” Schumer said.
The Senate Minority leader adds if enacted, “more than 10% of voters in the country could be disenfranchised to vote. For example, if you’re one of the 50% of Americans who doesn’t have a passport, or if you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans who can’t quickly access your birth certificate, the SAVE Act could, in effect, take away your right to vote.”
Jon Go, Honolulu, does not support the SAVE America Act. “As procuring or renewing a US passport costs at least $135, not all citizens will prioritize that over daily expenses,” he said.
Magdalena says requiring US citizens to register or reregister with a passport or birth certificate may discourage them from voting.
Other features of the SAVE America Act
Besides the US passport or birth certificate requirement, other features of the SAVE America Act include:
– Mail-in, online and community voter registration drives would no longer be valid for federal elections.
– A valid photo ID must be presented at polling places.
– There will be stricter rules for absentee ballots. Absentee voters must submit a copy of an eligible photo both when requesting and returning their ballot. Absentee voting will be limited to only illness, disability or military service.
– Voter Roll Verification: States are required to verify voter rolls against federal databases, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, and remove noncitizens from voter lists.
– There will be criminal and civil penalties. Election officials who register voters without proper documentation may face criminal penalties, including imprisonment, and private citizens may sue officials for noncompliance.
– States need to update voter registration forms, polling procedures, and absentee ballot systems. The law provides no federal funding or phase-in period, creating potential administrative burdens.
Mail-in voting increased voting in Hawaii, the SAVE America Act could change that
Hawaii adopted all-mail voting in 2020 after years of low turnout, with participation rising from 34.8% in 2016 to 51.2% in the system’s first year. Despite the increase, the Hawaii Elections Commission voted 5–3 to urge the Legislature to repeal universal vote-by-mail and return to single-day, in-person elections with limited absentee ballots.
State Rep Adrian Tam said the commission is “losing sight” of its mission to provide secure, accessible and convenient election services statewide. State lawmakers and voting-rights advocates have expressed opposition to the recommendation from the Hawaii Elections Commission to limit mail-in voting.
On returning to single-day, in-person election voting that the SAVE America Act would require, Go said, “Absentee voting allows voters with essential jobs to be able to vote and not have to take time off work to go to a voting location and fall in line. It also allows state residents who are traveling out of state or out of the country to still be able to exercise their right to vote. Voting should not impose additional burden on a voter’s already busy schedule.”
Casino favors universal absentee voting. “The data shows absentee voting works to boost voter participation in Hawaii. This should remain an option for all eligible voters. The greatest obstacle to voting is inconvenience. Absentee voting works because eligible voters have time to cast and mail in their ballots. This process is good for democracy,” she said.
“Mail-in voting and early voting are here to stay,” Tam said, arguing that shifting back to in-person-only, single-day voting would sharply reduce access, suppress turnout, and undo years of progress by making elections less secure and less accessible for thousands of Hawaii voters.
On ICE patrolling polling sites
As of early 2026, Trump has not explicitly said he would deploy ICE agents to polling places. Still, the idea has been promoted by some of his allies, and reports say his administration has not definitively ruled out an ICE presence.
Talks of an ICE deployment to polling sites have been prominently circulated that there have been surveys on this possibility. In a Date for Progress survey, a majority of voters (56%) support blocking ICE enforcement actions at polling locations or other election-related sites.
Longtime Trump supporter Steve Bannon said that the deployment of ICE agents to airports is “perfect training for the fall of 2026,” referring to the midterm election.
Unsubstantiated claims by the administration that noncitizens are voting in large numbers have fueled calls to deploy ICE agents at polling places.
Magdalena said, “Sending ICE to polling places will only threaten voters, not just illegal immigrants. ICE has become notorious these days”
Casino echoes Magdalena’s assessment of intimidation at the polls should ICE be deployed there. “Sending ICE to polling stations would not be to catch non-citizen voters. Rather, should it happen, it would be about voter intimidation, specifically for Latino and Asian communities because these are the communities mostly targeted by ICE. We all hear real life stories of racial profiling by ICE. Why wouldn’t Latinos and Asians be afraid to show up to vote with racial profiling happening even if they are US citizens eligible to vote. Now is the time for Americans to talk about this possibility before it’s too late because Trump hasn’t made it clear that ICE would not be deployed to polling stations.”
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