Booths await voters at the Pennington County Administration Building during early voting on January 19, 2026, for the municipal election in Rapid City, South Dakota. (Photo: Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that would require the public to present a passport or birth certificate to register to vote in most cases, less than a year before the November midterm elections.
The 218-213 the votes split mostly along party lines, with one Democrat, Republican Henry Cuellar of Texas, breaking with his party to support the measure. One Republican, Greg Murphy of North Carolina, did not vote.
Republicans argued Billdubbed the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” or SAVE America Act by House Republicans, it would prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections, which is already illegal and infrequent.
The Senate is considering its own version bill.
GOP support for this bill is consistent with President Donald Trump’s support comments is in favor of nationalize electionsa mid-decade campaign to redraw the state’s congressional districts to benefit Republicans and more than two dozen Justice Departments lawsuits demanding Democrat-led states turn over unredacted voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security.
The bill also includes a provision requiring each state to send the Department of Homeland Security an “official list of eligible voters for federal office” to be reviewed in the department’s database to identify non-citizens.
“Show your documents”
The legislation has drawn acute criticism from Democrats and voting rights advocates as a “show your IDs” bill that will disenfranchise approximately 146 million Americans who not have a passport.
They say it will also affect people without simple access to birth certificates and married women whose names do not match those on their birth certificates.
If the bill is passed by both houses and signed by Trump, it will go into effect immediately.
“Republicans know they can’t win on the merits, so instead of changing their policies, they’re trying to change the rules. John Lewis wasn’t beaten on a bridge in my hometown so that Republicans and Donald Trump would take those rules away from us,” said Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, citing the tardy Democratic Rep. John Lewis, who was beaten in 1965 in Selma, Alabama, during a voting rights march.
“This is a blatant power grab because Democrats won’t tolerate it,” Sewell, whose district includes Selma, said on the floor before the vote.
Sean Morales-Doyle, director of voting rights and elections at the Brennan Center for Justice, said the timing of the measure, if passed, would cause “maximum chaos.”
“A change of this scale to our electoral system right before an election would not only be terrible in its nature, because it would prevent Americans from voting, but it would also create chaos,” Morales-Doyle said.
“It would change the rules governing our elections and government registration just when it happens most frequently.[…]There is always a huge increase in registration in the run-up to an election.”
“Daggum’s ID”
But Republicans say the legislation provides “guarantees” to ensure only U.S. citizens vote, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on the floor before the vote.
“House Republicans and President Trump want to protect the ballot box and ensure the integrity of our elections in this great country,” Burchett said.
“When you buy a gun, when you get on a plane, when you open a bank account – if I put $100 in the bank and then ask for $20 back, guess what: I have to show my daggum ID,” Burchett continued.
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., said Democrats’ arguments against the bill were “hyperbole.”
“We should check and organize voter rolls and remove people who are not eligible to vote, because every citizen deserves the right to vote,” he said.
According to a July 2025 study, noncitizen voting claims in federal elections represent a “tiny fraction of voters.” analysis from the Center for Innovation and Election Research. The report was updated this month.
Murkowski is not on board
The Senate version, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, could face stronger headwinds.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, D-Alaska, released a statement on social media on Tuesday she won’t support legislation.
“Not only does the U.S. Constitution expressly grant states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places and manner’ of conducting federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates issued by Washington rarely work in places like Alaska,” Murkowski wrote, adding that changing procedures so close to the midterms “would negatively impact election integrity.”
