What Is the SAVE Act? Proof of Citizenship to Register, Where the Bill Stands, Who Voted How

By Dr. AtlasPublished Sep 17, 2026

The SAVE Act is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act: H.R. 22 in the 119th Congress, sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. ^[1][2] Its official title says what it would do: “To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of United States citizenship to register an individual to vote in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.” ^[2]

It is a bill, not a law. The House passed it on April 10, 2025, and the official status record shows nothing since the Senate received it that day. ^[2] An expanded version, the SAVE America Act, passed the House on February 11, 2026; as of September 17, 2026, the Senate has not voted on passing it, and every related Senate motion that needed three-fifths has been rejected. ^{[5][8][10][11][12][23]}

What is the SAVE Act?

The bill rewrites the registration rules in the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Its central sentence says a state “shall not accept and process an application to register to vote in an election for Federal office unless the applicant presents documentary proof of United States citizenship.” ^[1]

Someone who registers by mail would have to present that proof “in person to the office of the appropriate election official.” ^[1] An applicant with none of the listed documents could sign “an attestation under penalty of perjury” and offer other evidence; an official's finding of citizenship “shall be accompanied by an affidavit.” ^[1]

The bill also says a state “shall remove an individual who is not a citizen of the United States” from its federal voter list, and it adds an offense for election officials: “registering an applicant to vote in an election for Federal office who fails to present documentary proof of United States citizenship.” ^[1] It would take effect on enactment. ^[1]

What counts as documentary proof under the bill

• An ID issued under the REAL ID Act of 2005 “that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States.” ^[1]
• A valid U.S. passport. ^[1]
• A military ID card with a military service record showing a U.S. place of birth. ^[1]
• A government-issued photo ID showing a U.S. place of birth. ^[1]
• Any other government-issued photo ID, “but only if presented together with” a second document: a certified birth certificate, a U.S. hospital record of birth, a final adoption decree, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a naturalization or citizenship certificate, or an American Indian Card classified “KIC.” ^[1]

Proof of citizenship to vote: what the law requires now

Only citizens may vote in federal elections today. Under 18 U.S.C. § 611 it is “unlawful for any alien to vote” in an election held to choose a President, Vice President, senator or representative; the penalty is a fine, up to one year in prison, or both. ^[16]

What current law does not require is a document at registration. Under the NVRA, the national mail registration form “specifies each eligibility requirement (including citizenship),” “contains an attestation that the applicant meets each such requirement” and “requires the signature of the applicant, under penalty of perjury.” ^[15] It “may not include any requirement for notarization or other formal authentication.” ^[15]

The form asks, “Are you a citizen of the United States of America?” ^[17] The signer swears “I am a United States citizen,” and the form warns that a person who gives false information “may be fined, imprisoned, or (if not a U.S. citizen) deported from or refused entry to the United States.” ^[17]

In 2013 the Supreme Court held that “Arizona's evidence-of-citizenship requirement, as applied to Federal Form applicants, is pre-empted by the NVRA's mandate that States ‘accept and use’ the Federal Form.” ^[18] The SAVE Act would amend the NVRA itself. ^[1] Arizona still asks for documents under state law: “To be eligible to vote a ‘full ballot,’ you must submit proof of citizenship,” its Secretary of State says, and a “federal only ballot” “includes only federal races.” ^[22]

What is the SAVE America Act?

It is the 2026 version. On February 11, 2026, the House took up S. 1383, a veterans bill the Senate had already passed, and passed it with an amendment whose short title is the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” or the “SAVE America Act.” ^[4][5]

Section 2 keeps the documentary-proof rule for registration and adds that each state “shall submit the complete, official list of individuals registered as eligible voters” to the Department of Homeland Security for comparison through its SAVE system. ^[4]

Section 3 is new: “Requiring voters to provide photo identification.” ^[4] An election official “may not provide a ballot for an election for Federal office to an individual who desires to vote in person unless the individual presents to the official a valid physical photo identification.” ^[4] A ballot cast another way would need “a copy of a valid photo identification,” or the last four digits of a Social Security number with an affidavit that the voter could not obtain a copy. ^[4] The listed IDs are a state driver's license or motor-vehicle-authority ID card, a U.S. passport, a military ID and a Tribal photo ID. ^[4]

Did the Senate pass the SAVE Act?

No. As of September 17, 2026, the Senate has passed neither H.R. 22 nor the SAVE America Act, and neither is law. ^[2][5] These are the recorded votes on the two bills and on later attempts to move the same provisions another way.

Who voted against the SAVE Act?

In the House, the nays came from Democrats. On H.R. 22 (Roll Call 102), Republicans were recorded 216 yea, none nay, four not voting; Democrats were 208 nay, four yea (Case of Hawaii, Cuellar of Texas, Golden of Maine, Perez of Washington), one not voting. ^[3] On the SAVE America Act (Roll Call 69), 217 Republicans and one Democrat, Cuellar, were yea; all 213 nays were Democrats. ^[6] The Clerk files that vote under the vehicle's original name, the Veterans Accessibility Advisory Committee Act. ^[6]

House members with Ledger profiles were recorded yea on both roll calls: Andy Biggs, Ashley Hinson, Nick Begich, Tom Barrett, Scott Perry, Mike Collins, Eli Crane, Anna Paulina Luna, Zach Nunn, Barry Moore, Harriet Hageman, Tim Moore, Tom McClintock, Andy Barr and Julia Letlow. ^[3][6] Matt Van Epps was recorded yea in February 2026; his name is not on the April 2025 roll call. ^[3][6]

In the Senate, no Democrat or independent was recorded yea on the six Senate roll calls in the table. ^{[7][8][10][11][12][23]} Among Republicans, Lisa Murkowski was recorded nay on March 17; Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, Murkowski and Thom Tillis on April 23 and again on June 4; McConnell, Murkowski and Tillis on June 5. ^{[7][10][11][23]} Collins was yea on the other four; Jon Husted, sponsor of the photo-identification amendment, and Pete Ricketts were yea on all six. ^{[7][8][10][11][12][23]}

When will the Senate vote on the SAVE Act?

No date is set, as of September 17, 2026. The status record for S. 1383 shows Sen. Thune's March 17, 2026 motion to concur in the House amendment and no vote on it; the latest entry, dated March 26, 2026, reads “Considered by Senate (Message from the House considered).” ^[5] The Senate Press Gallery's schedule published September 16 lists a college sports bill, S. 4668, as pending business and names neither election bill. ^[21]

The same text is also before the Senate inside the defense authorization. A House rule told the Clerk to “add the text of S. 1383, as passed by the House, as new matter at the end of H.R. 8800”; the House passed H.R. 8800 on July 22, 2026, and the Senate received it on September 14. ^[13][14] None of the five three-fifths motions in the table above drew more than 53 votes. ^{[8][10][11][12][23]}

What supporters and opponents say

Supporters: Rep. Roy, the sponsor, called House passage “a critical step toward restoring election integrity by ensuring only U.S. citizens are voting in federal elections and are showing ID,” and described the bill as “a basic election safeguard that enjoys broad bipartisan support.” ^[19]

Opponents: Sen. Alex Padilla of California, a Democrat, said on the Senate floor on March 19, 2026, “If you're a married woman who chose to change her name when she got married, you could be kept from registering to vote,” and objected that “all 50 states would be required to send their voter rolls, including a lot of private information of voters, to the Department of Homeland Security.” ^[20]

What the text says on those two points: neither bill's text uses the words “married” or “marriage”; each says a state “shall establish a process under which an applicant can provide such additional documentation” as may be necessary “in the event of a discrepancy with respect to the applicant's documentary proof.” ^[1][4] The SAVE America Act does direct each state to submit its full voter list to the Department of Homeland Security. ^[4]

What it means for November 3, 2026

Each bill would take effect on enactment, and none has been enacted as of September 17, 2026. ^[1][4][5] Until that changes, you register under your state's current rules: see how to register before your state's deadline, who can vote in U.S. elections and what ID to bring to the polls.

Questions and answers