Overview
- Representatives approved the bill 218–213 and sent it to the Senate, with Democrat Henry Cuellar joining Republicans in favor.
- Under the proposal, applicants must present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register and voters must show a government photo ID to cast federal ballots, with tighter rules for mail voting.
- Election officials object to mandated data sharing with the Department of Homeland Security and use of federal databases such as USCIS’s SAVE system, citing privacy and implementation risks.
- Opposition spans Democrats and some Republicans, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, as GOP leaders acknowledge the filibuster makes passage unlikely without procedural changes.
- Latino and civil-rights groups warn the requirements could exclude millions of eligible voters, noting roughly 146 million lack a current passport and about 21 million lack immediate access to birth or naturalization papers; separately, Iowa settled a lawsuit curbing reliance on driver records to challenge voters.