Republicans are pushing to enact the most significant federal intervention into voting in generations. While encouraging that the Save America Act is unlikely to become law, it’s troubling that Washington’s urge to nationalize elections hasn’t subsided.
The Senate opened a marathon debate this week on the bill, which would make showing proof of citizenship a requirement when registering to vote. It would also nearly eliminate mail-in voting while requiring voters to show government-issued ID at polling locations. Some Republicans have called for dramatically changing Senate rules just to pass this piece of legislation, and President Donald Trump vows to veto any other legislation until it arrives on his desk.
National Republicans are wrong to try to substitute their will for that of state lawmakers, just as Democrats were wrong to pursue a sweeping election overhaul when they controlled Congress under President Joe Biden.
Republicans argue their changes are necessary to crack down on voter fraud but have never provided evidence that such fraud is pervasive or sways elections. A federal law already mandates that states require voters in national elections to attest, under penalty of perjury, that that they are U.S. citizens.
That alone has served as an effective deterrent against non-citizen voting. A 2022 audit of Georgia’s voter rolls going back to 1997 found just 1,634 noncitizens attempted to register to vote — and none succeeded. Another study of the 2016 election, including data from 23.5 million votes, found just 30 incidents of potential noncitizen voting.
States remain free to enact their own measures to guard against these rare violations, and polling consistently shows Americans are supportive of requiring identification to vote. Yet most states — including many dominated by Republicans — do not require documentary proof of citizenship.
Most states give people the option to vote by mail without a legal excuse, which has broad public support because it makes voting convenient. Eight states allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail. Some states, such as Idaho, allow mail-in ballots for small, rural communities that do not have easy access to in-person voting. The Save America Act would override the preferences of each state, leaving only narrow exceptions for members of the military or some disabled Americans.
The genius of America’s messy system is that it ensures no single entity can control and corrupt election results. It also allows voters to have more say in the machinery of democracy.
Whether the Save Act passes or not, it won’t be long before Democrats are back in power and Republicans could come to regret their shortsightedness.
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