Montanans stand in line to register to vote at the Lewis and Clark County Elections Office on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Blair Miller/Daily Montanan)
The U.S. Senate rejected the SAVE America Act on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose voting restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections.
The senators voted 48-50 against submitting an amendment that would include Trump’s most essential legislative priority in Art Immigration-focused spending bill. The vote was the clearest sign yet that, despite pressure from the president, a handful of Republican senators remain opposed to the bill, which critics say would create widespread chaos ahead of the fall elections.
The SAVE America Act would require voters to provide documentation, such as a birth certificate or passport, proving their citizenship when registering to vote. It would also require voters to show photo ID when casting a ballot and limit where voters can register, effectively eliminating the need for voter registration.
Democrats and voting rights groups oppose the bill, saying it does disenfranchise voters and overturn mid-term deadlines as the novel rules take effect immediately. Trump and Republican supporters of the bill say it is necessary to crack down on non-citizen voting, which is an extremely infrequent occurrence.
Since taking office last year, Trump has made a series of attempts to shape how elections are conducted. An executive order that would restrict mail-in voting remains in place for now as opponents challenge it in federal court and the Justice Department keeps looking force states to hand over sensitive voter data, so far unsuccessfully.
The Senate amendment, proposed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also included restrictions on transgender athletes participating in sports. Following the vote on social media, Graham called the SAVE America Act “one of the most significant” pieces of legislation produced by Trump and his team.
“All Democrats voted for them and they will pay the price in the end” – Graham he wrote.
Republicans are also voting no.
But the proposal was also not welcomed by a petite group of Republicans. Sense. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined Democrats in voting no.
Collins is seeking re-election in one of the most closely contested Senate races in the country. Both McConnell and Tillis have decided not to seek re-election, while Murkowski said the bill would create barriers for voters in her huge, rural state.
An amendment would need sixty votes to pass – the same threshold to overcome a filibuster.
The vote came after the Senate spent weeks debating the SAVE America Act earlier this year before turning to other business without a vote. Trump urged Republicans to abandon the filibuster and pass the bill, no luck.
“We will suppress this blatant attempt at voter suppression” – Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, he wrote on social media after the vote.
The Senate also rejected, by a vote of 50 to 49, a separate amendment proposed by Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, that included a different version of the SAVE America Act. According to Lee, the amendment was a version of a bill passed by the House that did not include provisions regarding transgender athletes.
Collins voted for the amendment after previously opposing Graham’s amendment.
California
Both amendments failed hours after Trump claimed without evidence that Democrats were stealing “votes” in California. The state held its primary election earlier this week, but vote counting in the state is often tardy, meaning vote totals reported on election night do not always reflect the final outcome of the race.
Trump connected California elections on his push for the SAVE America Act, writing on social media that “I hope Republicans are watching this” so they can pass it.
“Last night, shockingly, they found multiple mail-in ballots,” Trump said Thursday during an unrelated event in the Oval Office. “So we don’t want that.”
With the Senate unwilling to support the SAVE America Act, some GOP lawmakers have begun proposing alternative election-related bills.
Republican Reps. Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota and Laurel Lee of Florida introduced the SAVE America Through REAL ID Act on Thursday, which would create a grant program to aid states provide REAL ID-compatible driver’s licenses and ID cards to low-income residents.
On Tuesday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, and Graham introduced the Election Security Partnership Act, intended to encourage states to turn over their voter rolls to computer program run by the Department of Homeland Security, which can identify potential foreign nationals.
States can already submit voter data to a program called Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, but the legislation would provide states with $20 million in grants to cover any costs associated with using SAVE.
