Overview
- An effort to bolt a pared-back version of the voter ID and citizenship-check plan onto a GOP immigration funding bill fell 48-50 during a marathon amendment session, with Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and Mitch McConnell voting no.
- Republican leaders have taken the bill off the floor to prioritize a party-line package to fund immigration enforcement and a fast-approaching renewal of surveillance powers under Section 702.
- The proposal, known as the SAVE America Act, would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, mandate a photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections, and bar noncitizen voting in those contests.
- The measure lacks the support to beat a filibuster, and most Republicans are not willing to scrap the 60-vote rule; ideas to use budget reconciliation face the Byrd Rule, which blocks provisions not directly tied to spending or revenues.
- Democrats and voting-rights groups say the bill has stalled, while sponsor Mike Lee insists it is not dead; GOP splits over strategy have grown, and for voters the rules for registration and ID remain unchanged for now.