What to know about the SAVE America Act

Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images By Ana Faguy  and  Brandon Drenon Published 12 February 2026 Updated 5 hours ago President Donald Trump is turning up the heat on the US Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require people to provide ID and proof of citizenship to vote and which has failed to gain support in the Senate. Trump has said he will not sign a separate bipartisan housing bill into law until Congress approves the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE). He considers passing SAVE a "national emergency". But Senate Majority Leader John Thune has so far avoided bringing it up for a vote and has resisted calls to end the filibuster in order to overcome Democrats' opposition because he said it simply doesn't have enough support. Meanwhile, some Republican-led states have taken up the cause to introduce their own proof-of-citizenship bills. Democrats say the SAVE legislation disenfranchises eligible voters, while Republicans say it is necessary to prevent voter fraud. Here's what to know about it. What would the SAVE act do? The SAVE act would require Americans to prove they are US citizens when they register to vote. It would also mandate showing a valid photo identification before they cast their ballots. Some states already require voters to present valid photo identification at the polls. Federal law mandates that voters in national election be US citizens, but it does not require mandatory proof of citizenship, as the proposed legislation would. Voter ID is a popular idea with US voters. A Pew Research Center poll from last year found 83% of respondents favoured requiring all voters to show government-issued photo ID, including 71% of Democrat or Democratic-leaning voters and 95% of Republican or Republican-leaning voters. Under the legislation, election officials who register a voter without obtaining the required proof of citizenship could face criminal penalties. The SAVE act would also establish a process for people whose names have changed to submit additional documents to verify their identity. This provision has drawn particular concern for individuals who changed their names after marriage. An estimated 21 million Americans do not have documents proving their citizenship readily available, and 2.6 million lack any form of government-issued photo ID, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal-leaning think tank, and the University of Maryland's Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. What does Trump say? President Trump has been urging his Republican party to push the measure through both chambers of Congress so he can sign it into law. He told House Republicans before they passed a version of the bill in February: "I'm not going to sign anything until this is approved." "It'll guarantee the midterms," he said, referring to November's congressional elections. "If you don't get it, big trouble, my opinion." Traditionally, the president's party performs poorly in the congressional elections