House passes SAVE Act requiring citizenship proof to vote, based on debunked 'millions of illegals voting' claims

The House passed H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, on a 218-213 party-line vote. The bill requires documentary proof of citizenship (passport, birth certificate, etc.) to register to vote and photo ID to vote. Republicans justified the bill by claiming widespread noncitizen voting, despite evidence showing such voting is virtually nonexistent. State audits consistently find negligible cases: Georgia found 20 noncitizens out of 8.2 million registered voters (0.0002%); Utah found 1 out of 2.1 million; Iowa found 35 cases over 10 years out of 1.6 million voters. Noncitizen voting has been illegal under federal law since 1996. The Brennan Center estimates 21 million American citizens lack readily available citizenship documents, and 69 million women have name mismatches between IDs and documents due to marriage. Civil rights groups warned the bill would disproportionately disenfranchise elderly, low-income, rural, and minority voters who may lack passports or easy access to birth certificates. The ACLU called it 'a solution in search of a problem' that 'would make it harder for eligible voters to register.' Rep. Jamie Raskin noted: 'This bill is not about election security. It's about making it harder for Americans to vote.'

"This bill is not about election security. It's about making it harder for Americans to vote." — Rep. Jamie Raskin during House debate on H.R. 22, the SAVE Act, February 11, 2026