Overview
- The SAVE America Act, which cleared the House largely along party lines, lacks the 60 Senate votes needed to advance, and Majority Leader John Thune has ruled out changing filibuster rules despite pledging a floor vote.
- Internal GOP divisions persist as Sen. Lisa Murkowski opposes the bill’s one-size-fits-all mandates for rural Alaska even as Sen. Susan Collins backs it, and senior Republicans acknowledge there aren’t votes to weaken the filibuster.
- President Donald Trump, House conservatives, and the State Freedom Caucus Network are pressuring Senate Republicans to force a public vote, with a new letter urging leaders not to use cloture to bury the bill.
- Disability and LGBTQ+ advocates warn the bill’s documentary proof and ID rules would disenfranchise eligible voters, citing research that millions lack ready access to passports or birth certificates and that noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare.
- The legislation would require in-person documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register, impose stricter government photo ID to cast ballots, and tighten mail-in and online registration practices, measures supporters argue are needed for election security.