Overview
- Lawmakers approved the bill 218–213, with all Republicans and one Democrat, Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, voting yes.
- The legislation requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections and a photo ID to vote, with tighter rules for mail ballots.
- It mandates state–federal data sharing to verify citizenship, empowers DHS to act if noncitizens appear on voter rolls, and creates criminal penalties for officials who register voters without required documents.
- Republicans frame the bill as an election‑integrity safeguard, while Democrats and rights groups warn it would disenfranchise eligible voters, citing estimates that roughly 21 million Americans lack ready access to the necessary documents.
- Legal scholars question Congress’s authority to set voter qualifications under Supreme Court precedent, and the proposal faces unified Democratic opposition in the Senate and skepticism from some Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski.