House passes bill requiring proof of U.S. citizenship

The House passed a bill mostly along party lines that would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. This would be applicable to federal elections. Almost all Democrats voted against the bill while some joined the Republicans. The Democrats argued that this bill would disenfranchise voters. The Republicans argued that this measure would help restore confidence in our voting system. This is the second attempt that the Republicans made to pass this bill. The Democrats controlled the Senate during the first attempt, so the bill didn’t pass then. This year, the Democrats have the filibuster option to fight back.

From AP News:

“It pushes women out of the democratic process,” she said of the documentation requirement. “And it’s not a coincidence. It’s part of a strategy to make voting harder, to sow distrust in our elections.”

Democrats also said the bill would disproportionately affect older people in assisted care facilities, military service members who wouldn’t be able to solely use their military IDs, people of color and working-class Americans who may not have the time or money to jump through bureaucratic hoops.

“The SAVE Act is everything our civil rights leaders fought against,” said Rep. Nikema Williams, a Democrat from Georgia.

Republicans have defended the legislation as necessary to restore public confidence in elections and say it allows states to adopt procedures to help voters comply. They have disputed Democratic characterizations of the bill.

Four Democrats voted in favor of the legislation: Reps. Ed Case of Hawaii, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Perez of Washington.

“The truth is, those who were registered to vote would still be able to vote under their current registration,” said Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who sponsored the bill. “We have mechanisms giving the state fairly significant deference to make determinations as to how to structure the situation where an individual does have a name change, which of course is often women.”

On Thursday, Roy said Cleta Mitchell, a key figure in Trump’s campaign to overturn the 2020 election results, “had a significant hand in what we’re doing here.” Mitchell, a longtime GOP lawyer, has played a central role in coordinating the movement to tighten voting laws across the country.

Additional Reading:

Mascaro, L., Cassidy, C. A., & Fernando, C. (2025, April 10). How the House’s requirement to prove US citizenship could affect the ability to register to vote. AP News. Link.

Category: Politics, Society