The SAVE Act in 2026: What It Is and Where It Stands

Last Update: June 30, 2026. The SAVE Act would change how Americans register to vote. Here's what it actually does — and why it keeps failing in the Senate

Table of Contents

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What's the Latest on the SAVE Act?

As of June 28, 2026, the SAVE America Act has not passed the Senate. Since the original March debate stalled, the fight over the bill has moved through three distinct phases: two failed floor votes, and now a pressure campaign aimed at the president's own party.

Two Failed Attempts to Pass It Through Reconciliation

Because the bill can't get the 60 votes needed to beat a Senate filibuster, Republicans twice tried a workaround: attaching its core provisions to unrelated budget reconciliation bills, which only need a simple majority to pass.

• April 23, 2026: Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) offered the SAVE Act as an amendment to a reconciliation bill. It failed 48–50.
• June 4, 2026: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tried again, attaching it to a separate reconciliation bill funding ICE and Customs and Border Protection. It failed again, 48–50.

Both times, the same four Republicans — Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitch McConnell (KY), and Thom Tillis (NC) — joined every Democrat in voting no.

Trump Has Started Holding Other Legislation Hostage to Force a Vote

With reconciliation exhausted, Trump shifted tactics in June: rather than pushing the Senate directly, he began blocking unrelated legislation he otherwise supports until the SAVE America Act passes.

• FISA surveillance authority lapsed. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — the government's warrantless surveillance program — had already been extended once, through June 12, 2026, by an earlier bill Congress passed in April. When that deadline arrived, the authority lapsed rather than being renewed again. A plan to confirm Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, was expected to unlock the Democratic votes needed to pass a new extension, but hours before Clayton's confirmation hearing, Trump pulled him from it over an unrelated dispute and added, in the same Truth Social post, that he wouldn't approve any FISA extension unless the SAVE America Act was attached.
• The housing bill signing was canceled. On June 24, 2026, Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — a bipartisan housing bill that passed both chambers by veto-proof margins (89–10 in the Senate) — writing on Truth Social that the signing "is hereby canceled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency." Because the housing bill passed by a veto-proof margin, the holdup may not change its ultimate fate: if Trump neither signs nor vetoes it within 10 days after he receives the bill from Congress in session, it becomes law automatically.

Senate Republicans Are Now Publicly Breaking With Trump on Strategy

What had been a quiet defection by four senators in two floor votes turned into public dissent this weekend. On Sunday shows, two more Republican senators said plainly that the bill isn't going anywhere this year:

• Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), on CNN, called passing the SAVE Act before the midterms an "impossible task," arguing Republicans should "stop undermining the confidence in the elections" and instead campaign on results.
• Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), on CBS, said he supports voter ID in principle but agreed with Thune that "there are not the votes" to pass it in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said the same. The bill has not been withdrawn, and Trump has continued pushing for it — including renewing calls to eliminate the filibuster — but the gap between the White House's posture and the Senate GOP's own assessment of the bill's chances has become increasingly public.

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What Is the SAVE Act?

The SAVE Act — short for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — is federal legislation that would require people to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections. Some versions of the bill would also require voters to show photo identification when casting a ballot.

"Documentary proof of citizenship" means something more specific than the identification most people already carry. A standard driver's license — even a REAL ID — typically would not count on its own. Acceptable documents would generally include a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, naturalization papers, or a REAL ID specifically marked to indicate citizenship (only a handful of states, including Michigan, currently offer that marked version).

This is a meaningfully different requirement than what most people think of as "voter ID." Voter ID laws ask someone to prove who they are at the polls. The SAVE Act asks someone to prove that they are a citizen — a higher bar, and one most people have never had to clear to register to vote, because U.S. law has historically relied on a signed declaration under penalty of perjury rather than a document.

Why Does the SAVE Act Exist?

Supporters say it closes a gap: current law already makes it illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, but enforcement mostly relies on people telling the truth on a form, backed up by database checks rather than physical documents. They argue that a documentary standard would create a uniform, harder-to-game system and increase public confidence in election results.

Opponents argue the gap doesn't meaningfully exist in practice — that noncitizen voting in federal elections is already rare and already illegal, and that the bill's practical effect would fall on the millions of eligible citizens who don't have ready access to a passport or other qualifying document, rather than on the small number of ineligible voters it's aimed at.

Both of these claims get examined in detail later in this guide — see The SAVE Act Rationale for what the data on voter fraud actually shows, and Policy Arguments For and Against the SAVE Act for the fuller case on each side.

It's Not One Bill — It's Three

"The SAVE Act" isn't a single piece of legislation. Over the past year and a half, it has existed as three separate bills in Congress, each version slightly different:

The reason there are three is mostly procedural, not a reflection of three competing ideas: each new version was introduced after the previous one stalled, and the House eventually used S. 1383 — an unrelated, already-passed Senate bill — as a legislative shortcut by replacing its text with SAVE Act language rather than starting over with a brand-new Senate bill. (The SAVE Act Legislation in Congress section of this guide breaks down exactly how each bill differs and where each one currently stands.)

Why Did the House Pass Two Different Bills With the Same Idea?

This is a fair question, and the answer is a quirk of how Congress moves legislation rather than a sign of three competing proposals.

H.R. 22 passed the House in April 2025 and then sat in the Senate for ten months without a vote — the same dead end that awaits most House bills the Senate majority doesn't want to take up. By January 2026, House Republicans tried again with a new bill, H.R. 7296, which added a photo-ID-to-vote requirement on top of H.R. 22's citizenship-proof rule.

The House passed H.R. 7296 on February 11, 2026 — but rather than send that bill to the Senate and risk the same fate as H.R. 22, House leadership used it for a different purpose: as the source text for a separate maneuver. On the same day, the House took S. 1383 — an unrelated bill that had already passed the Senate by unanimous consent two months earlier, in December 2025 — and replaced its entire contents with H.R. 7296's language. The House then passed this amended version of S. 1383 and sent it back to the Senate.

In effect, H.R. 7296 served as the draft: it gave House Republicans a finished, House-approved version of the policy. S. 1383 became the delivery vehicle: because it had already cleared the Senate once (on an unrelated topic), sending it back as a Senate bill the House had amended put it in a different procedural lane than introducing a brand-new bill — one Republican leaders judged more likely to get Senate floor time. This kind of substitution, sometimes called using a bill as a "shell," is a long-standing congressional tactic, not unique to the SAVE Act.

The result is that H.R. 7296 and S. 1383 carry essentially identical language, but only S. 1383 is the version still alive in the Senate. H.R. 7296 remains on the books as a separate bill, useful mainly as the public record of what the House passed, but it isn't going anywhere on its own.

Is the SAVE Act the Same as a Voter ID Law?

No — though the two get conflated often, including in some of the bill's own informal nicknames.

A typical state voter ID law asks someone to show identification, like a driver's license, when they show up to vote. The SAVE Act's central requirement is about registering to vote, and it's about proving citizenship specifically, not just identity.

Several versions of the bill also add a separate photo-ID requirement for casting a ballot, which is closer to what people usually mean by "voter ID" — but that's a second, distinct provision layered on top of the citizenship requirement, not the bill's main feature.

Does This Affect Michigan Voters Specifically?

The SAVE Act is federal legislation, so if passed, it would apply to voter registration for federal elections in every state, including Michigan.

Separately, Michigan has its own proof-of-citizenship efforts moving on a parallel track: a state bill (House Bill 4765, passed by the state House but stalled in the Senate) and two competing ballot measures collecting signatures for the November election. These would apply only to Michigan's state and local elections, not federal ones, and are moving through entirely separate processes from the federal bill.

For the full picture — what HB 4765 and the ballot measures would actually require, their status, and how they differ from this federal bill — see our companion guide, Guide to Michigan's Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Proposals.

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Timeline: How the SAVE Act Got to Where It Is Today

Phase 1: Introduction and First House Passage

January 2025 – April 2025

• January 3, 2025 — H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, is introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
• April 10, 2025 — H.R. 22 passes the House of Representatives, 220–208.
• April 10, 2025 — H.R. 22 is received by the U.S. Senate but is not scheduled for committee review or a floor vote. It will remain here, untouched, for the next ten months.

Phase 2: A Second Bill, and the S.1383 Maneuver

January 2026 – March 2026

• January 30, 2026 — With H.R. 22 stalled, Rep. Chip Roy introduces a follow-up bill, H.R. 7296, in the House. It carries the same citizenship-proof requirement as H.R. 22 and adds new voting and election-administration provisions, including a photo-ID requirement to cast a ballot.
• February 11, 2026 — H.R. 7296 passes the House, 218–213.
• March 2026 — Rather than send H.R. 7296 to the Senate floor directly, House leadership takes a procedural shortcut: it inserts the SAVE Act language into S.1383, an unrelated bill the Senate had already passed earlier in the session. The House passes this amended version of S.1383 and sends it back to the Senate — making S.1383, not H.R. 22 or H.R. 7296, the active vehicle going forward.
• March 17, 2026 — The Senate votes 51–48 to approve a motion to proceed, allowing debate to begin on the House-passed version of S.1383. This is a procedural vote to start debate, not a vote on the bill itself.
• March 21, 2026 — During a rare weekend session, the Senate rejects a Trump-backed amendment to S.1383 related to transgender athletes. The vote confirms the Senate is actively debating and amending the bill — but the underlying legislation still hasn't advanced to a passage vote.
• March 23, 2026 — President Trump publicly ties the SAVE America Act to an ongoing Department of Homeland Security funding standoff, urging Republicans not to agree to a DHS funding deal unless the SAVE Act advances. This raises the bill's political profile but doesn't change its legislative status — it's still pending.

Phase 3: Two Failed Attempts to Pass It Through Reconciliation

April 2026 – June 2026

With a traditional 60-vote path to cloture looking unreachable, Senate Republicans try a different route twice: attaching the SAVE Act's core provisions to unrelated budget reconciliation bills, which only need a simple majority to pass.

• April 23, 2026 — Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) offers an amendment attaching SAVE Act provisions to a budget reconciliation bill. It fails, 48–50. Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitch McConnell (KY), and Thom Tillis (NC) join every Democrat in voting no.
• June 4, 2026 — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tries again, attaching similar provisions to a second reconciliation bill funding ICE and Customs and Border Protection. The amendment fails again, 48–50, with the same four Republicans voting no.

Phase 4: Trump's Pressure Campaign

June 2026

With both Senate attempts having failed, Trump shifts tactics — rather than working through the Senate, he begins blocking unrelated legislation and nominations until the SAVE Act passes.

• June 12, 2026 — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the government's warrantless surveillance authority, lapses. It had already been extended once, through this date, by an earlier bill Congress passed in April; it is not renewed again.
• June 17, 2026 — Hours before a scheduled Senate confirmation hearing for his own pick for Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton — whose confirmation was expected to unlock the Democratic votes needed to pass a new FISA extension — Trump pulls Clayton from the hearing over an unrelated dispute, and adds in the same post that he won't approve any FISA extension unless the SAVE America Act is attached to it.
• June 24, 2026 — Trump cancels the signing ceremony for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing bill that passed both chambers by veto-proof margins, writing on Truth Social that the signing "is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency."
• June 28, 2026 — Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) say publicly, on separate Sunday shows, that the bill isn't passing this year. Tillis calls it an "impossible task" to implement before the midterms; Cassidy says plainly that "there are not the votes." Both echo what Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said privately for weeks.
• June 30, 2026 — Speaker Mike Johnson tried merging the House-passed SAVE America Act with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) via a procedural rule, so voting for the rule would send both to the Senate as one package.
  • Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and other hardliners rejected this as too weak, insisting SAVE language be written directly into the NDAA's text instead. The rule failed, 198–224, with 14 Republicans — including Luna, Chip Roy (R-TX), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) — voting no.
  • Unlike the earlier reconciliation votes, these Republicans weren't opposing the SAVE Act — they wanted a stronger version of it. The failure stalled the NDAA and sent the House into recess early.

Current Status (June 2026)

• H.R. 22 remains formally pending in the Senate but has not been the active vehicle for debate since March 2026.
• H.R. 7296 passed the House but, like H.R. 22, is not the bill currently being acted on — its language lives on through S. 1383.
• S. 1383, carrying the SAVE America Act language, has not passed the Senate. After the March debate stalled short of a final vote, Republicans twice tried to attach its core provisions to unrelated reconciliation bills — once in April, once in June — and both attempts failed by the same 48–50 margin.
• Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he has no current plan to bring the bill back to the floor. Two more Republican senators, Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy, said publicly on June 28 that they don't believe it can pass before the midterms.
• The bill has not been formally withdrawn, and President Trump has continued pushing for it — including by holding unrelated legislation, like a bipartisan housing bill, until Congress sends him the SAVE Act.

What Happens Next

Federal (SAVE Act / S.1383)

As of June 28, 2026, the bill has not passed the Senate and still appears to lack the 60 votes generally needed to overcome a filibuster.

The Government Can’t Use the SAVE System to Cross-Check Voter Rolls

• A separate legal fight over the SAVE system (the database tool, not this bill) resulted in a June 2026 federal court order limiting its use for voter-roll verification.

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The SAVE Act Rationale

Concerns about voter fraud have become a major political issue in the United States over the past decade, particularly after the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. During those elections and afterward, President Donald Trump and some allies repeatedly claimed that widespread voter fraud had occurred, including allegations of illegal votes.

These claims led to numerous investigations, lawsuits, and election audits. Courts, state election officials from both parties, and federal agencies reviewed the allegations but did not find evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed election outcomes.

Despite those findings, concerns about election integrity remain influential in American politics. Some lawmakers argue that stronger voter verification requirements are needed to increase public confidence in elections, while others argue that additional restrictions could make voting more difficult for eligible citizens.

Key Facts About Voter Fraud

Voter fraud is illegal under federal and state law. Non-citizens are prohibited from voting in federal elections, and violations can carry criminal penalties.

• Documented voter impersonation is extremely rare. A widely cited study reviewing elections from 2000–2014 found 31 credible cases of voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion ballots cast. (Source: Brennan Center for Justice analysis of election records.)
• Confirmed cases of election fraud do occur, but they represent a very small share of total ballots cast. The Heritage Foundation's Election Fraud Database lists more than 1,500 proven cases across several decades. These cases include absentee ballot violations, vote buying, registration fraud, and ballot tampering. (Source: Heritage Foundation Election Fraud Database.)
• Investigations following the 2020 election — including court cases, state audits, and reviews by the U.S. Department of Justice — did not find evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election. (Source: Associated Press reporting and court records.)
• When election fraud does occur, it most often involves absentee ballots or administrative violations rather than impersonation at polling places.

Evidence From Investigations and Audits

After the 2020 presidential election, dozens of lawsuits were filed challenging election results in several states. Courts — including judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents — dismissed many of these cases due to lack of evidence or legal standing.

Federal and state officials also conducted reviews of election processes. The U.S. Department of Justice, state election administrators, and independent audits did not find evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed the outcome of the election.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the federal agency responsible for election security, described the 2020 election as "the most secure in American history."

Policy Arguments For and Against the SAVE Act

The stated purpose of the SAVE Act is to prevent non-citizens from registering to vote and to strengthen verification of voter eligibility in federal elections. The debate reflects different views about how voter eligibility should be verified in federal elections and what level of documentation should be required.

The table below summarizes the main policy arguments raised by supporters and opponents of the legislation.

While this table summarizes the main policy arguments raised by each side, public debate around election laws often includes stronger political claims about the motives of the opposing party.

Political Rhetoric That Often Appears in the Debate

In addition to policy arguments, debate about election laws often includes strong political rhetoric about the motives of the opposing party. The table below summarizes common claims made during political debate around voting laws like the SAVE Act.

Understanding the policy debate around the SAVE Act requires understanding how voter eligibility is currently verified in the United States. Today, most states rely on a combination of voter attestation, identity verification through government databases, and voter roll maintenance procedures. The SAVE Act would change this process by requiring documentary proof of citizenship as part of voter registration for federal elections.

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How Voter Eligibility Is Verified Today

In the United States, voter eligibility is primarily verified by the states. Each state administers its own elections and maintains its own voter registration system, although federal law establishes certain baseline rules.

Under current federal law, most states rely on voter self-attestation of citizenship combined with identity verification through government databases.

1) Voter Documentation

When registering to vote in most states, individuals must:

• Declare under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote
• Provide identifying information such as a driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number

If a voter registers by mail or online and the identity cannot be confirmed through these databases, the voter must provide identification the first time they vote.

Acceptable identification varies by state but may include:

• Michigan driver's license
• Michigan state ID
• U.S. passport
• military ID
• tribal ID
• student ID (from certain institutions)
• utility bill
• bank statement
• government check
• paycheck
• government document showing name and address

These documents confirm identity and residency, not citizenship.

2) Voter Identity Verification

States then verify identity by checking the information against government databases, such as:

• State driver's license records
• Social Security Administration databases

3) Voter Roll Maintenance

In addition, election officials maintain voter rolls using other government records, including:

• death records
• change-of-address data
• voter participation records
• interstate data systems used to identify people who may have moved

Under this system, citizenship is generally affirmed by the voter rather than proven with documentation, and identity verification occurs through database matching.

This self-attestation and database-matching system is the baseline the SAVE Act would change. Documentary proof of citizenship — rather than a signed declaration — would become the standard for registering to vote in federal elections. See What Is the SAVE Act? for how that requirement would work in practice, or SAVE Act Legislation in Congress for where each version of the bill stands today.

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SAVE Act Impact on Voters

How the SAVE Act Would Change Voter Documentation

Voters May Need Additional Documentation When Registering

States would be required to verify citizenship before registering voters for federal elections. In practice, this could occur through government database checks or by requiring applicants to provide documentation.

How this process would work in practice could vary by state because election administration is handled at the state level, and states differ in their laws, data-sharing authority, and technical systems.

1: The state verifies citizenship ahead of time (easier for voters)

• When you register, the state may verify citizenship using government records or databases
• Election systems may mark voter records as "citizenship verified" once documentation has been confirmed
• On Election Day, you show a normal photo ID (like a driver's license) and vote
• You do not need to bring a birth certificate to the polling place

2: The voter may need to prove citizenship at the polls

• The state has not verified citizenship ahead of time, so your record is not marked "citizenship verified."
• On Election Day, you must show a photo ID
• If your photo ID does not indicate U.S. citizenship, you must also show proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate)

Obtaining these documents can involve fees and additional steps

For example:

• Michigan birth certificate fees typically range from about $10 to $35 depending on the county
• A U.S. passport currently costs about $165–$183 for first-time adult applicants
• A Michigan Enhanced Driver's License would meet the Proof of U.S. Citizenship requirements, but there is also a $30–$45 fee to obtain one.

Voters can confirm their registration is active through their state's voter lookup, and if new federal requirements were adopted, states would be required to notify voters if additional documentation is needed.

Why a Driver's License Alone Isn't Valid Proof

In most states, a standard REAL ID driver's license would not meet the proof of U.S. citizenship requirement because:

• REAL ID status alone generally does not prove citizenship
• Many non-citizens can legally receive REAL ID–compliant licenses
• Most REAL ID driver's licenses do not indicate citizenship on the card
• For a REAL ID to qualify on its own, it must:
  • Be REAL ID–compliant and
  • Explicitly indicate that the holder is a U.S. citizen

Name Changes & Documentation Matching

The Issue

Some voters have identification documents issued under different legal names. For example, a birth certificate may list a person's maiden name, while a driver's license and voter registration reflect a married name.

Why This Can Matter

If proof of citizenship is required during voter registration or voting, election officials may need to confirm that documents showing different names refer to the same person. In those cases, voters may need to provide additional documentation linking the names.

Examples of documents that may help establish this connection include:

• certified marriage certificate
• divorce decree reflecting a name change
• court order documenting a legal name change

Estimated Impact

Some researchers estimate that millions of Americans have identification documents under different names due to marriage or other legal changes.

Preparing Documentation

Voters who have changed their legal name may wish to keep documentation available that connects their current name to the name appearing on their birth certificate or other citizenship document.

The Most Complete Document: A U.S. Passport.
Why: A valid unexpired U.S. Passport already proves both your citizenship and your current legal name (if updated). It is the single best document to bypass the name-mismatch mess.

The "Bridge" Document: Certified Marriage License.
Why: If you rely on your birth certificate for citizenship proof, you will likely need your original or certified copy of your marriage license (not the fancy commemorative one) to legally "bridge" the gap between your birth name and your voter registration name.

What Makes Voter ID Requirements More Complex Than They May Appear

Voter identification requirements are often viewed as straightforward. Identification is commonly used for everyday activities such as driving, banking, boarding flights, or purchasing age-restricted products. From that perspective, it can seem reasonable to assume that nearly everyone already has the identification needed to vote.

In reality, access to government-issued identification and the underlying documents required to obtain it can vary widely depending on a person's circumstances.

Not everyone has a government-issued photo ID.
Research by the Brennan Center for Justice estimates that roughly 11% of U.S. citizens of voting age — about 21 million people — do not have a current government-issued photo ID.

The rates are higher among certain populations, including older adults, lower-income individuals, and some minority communities.

Obtaining ID often requires other official documents.
To obtain a driver's license or state ID card, individuals usually must present documents such as:

• a certified birth certificate
• a passport
• proof of Social Security number
• proof of current address

For people who do not have these documents readily available, obtaining them can require additional steps, fees, and travel.

Some documents can be difficult to replace.
Birth certificates are typically issued by the state or county where a person was born. If someone was born in another state — or if records were lost, damaged, or never formally recorded — replacing those documents can take time and may require multiple forms of identification.

Name changes can also create complications. For example, some married voters may have a birth certificate in one name and other documents in another, requiring additional paperwork to reconcile the records.

Transportation and office access can be barriers.
In many areas, particularly rural communities, driver's license offices or state ID offices may be located far from where people live. Limited office hours, transportation challenges, or work schedules can make it difficult for some individuals to obtain or renew identification.

Cost can also play a role.
While some states offer free voter identification cards, the supporting documents needed to obtain them — such as certified birth certificates — often involve fees. Travel costs and time off work can also add to the burden.

Certain populations are more likely to face these challenges.
Research has found higher rates of missing identification among:

• older Americans who may have been born before standardized birth records were common in some regions
• lower-income individuals who may lack transportation or documentation
• people who move frequently and may struggle to maintain consistent address documentation
• individuals who have changed their name due to marriage or other life events

New "Safety Net" Provisions

While the requirements are strict, the legislation (H.R. 22 and H.R. 7296) includes specific protections for voters with documentation challenges:

• Alternative verification procedures: The legislation allows states to establish procedures for individuals who cannot readily obtain documentary proof of citizenship. These may include providing additional evidence or sworn statements under penalty of perjury, depending on how the law is implemented.
• Name Change Attestation: To protect voters whose current legal name differs from their birth certificate (common for married women), the law allows for a signed attestation swearing to the accuracy of the name change to "bridge the gap" between documents.

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SAVE Act Legislation in Congress

Current Legislative Vehicle: Although the SAVE Act was introduced as H.R. 22 and later expanded in H.R. 7296, the version in the Senate is S.1383. The House amended that Senate bill by replacing its original text with SAVE Act language, making S.1383 the legislative vehicle since March 2026.

1) H.R. 22 (Federal House Bill)

Bill Summary

• Bill Website
• Bill Text

H.R. 22, known as the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act), was introduced to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. It passed the House in 2025 and served as the legislative foundation for the more expansive requirements later carried by H.R. 7296 and S. 1383.

The registration requirement applies to all methods:

• Motor vehicle offices (DMV)
• Mail-in registration
• Voter registration agencies
• In-person registration

Required Documentation to Register to Vote

People already registered to vote would not be automatically removed from the voter rolls; however, states would be required to actively verify citizenship and may require proof if eligibility is questioned.

In Michigan, a driver's license — even a REAL ID — would generally not be sufficient on its own to meet the bill's citizenship documentation requirement. Voters would typically also need a document proving U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport.

1) Valid: Stand-alone documents that may satisfy the citizenship requirement

• A REAL ID–compliant identification that indicates U.S. citizenship. Michigan is one of five states that offers an Enhanced Driver's License, which costs $30–$45.
• A valid U.S. passport, which costs approximately $183.
• A U.S. military ID plus a military service record showing the person was born in the United States
• A government-issued photo ID (federal, state, or tribal) that shows the person's place of birth in the United States

2) Valid: Government photo ID plus supporting citizenship document

If the photo ID does not show U.S. citizenship, it must be accompanied by one of the following:

• A certified U.S. birth certificate
• A U.S. hospital record of birth created at the time of birth
• A final adoption decree showing the person was born in the United States
• A Consular Report of Birth Abroad or certification of such a report
• A U.S. Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship
• Any other federal document issued under immigration law that proves U.S. citizenship
• An American Indian Card issued by the Department of Homeland Security with classification "KIC"

Bill Status

• Introduced: January 3, 2025, by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
• Passed by the House: April 10, 2025 (Vote: 220–208).
• Current Senate Status: Received in the Senate. No further action taken.

H.R. 22 remains formally pending in the Senate, though it has not been the active legislative vehicle since debate shifted to S. 1383 in March 2026. With S. 1383 having since failed twice as a reconciliation amendment, H.R. 22 continues to exist on paper as a separate bill, but there is no indication the Senate plans to take it up directly.

2) H.R. 7296 (Federal House Bill)

Bill Summary

• Bill Website
• Bill Text

After H.R. 22 stalled in the Senate, a new bill, H.R. 7296, was introduced in the House in January 2026 with similar provisions and additional requirements.

H.R. 7296 includes similar documentation requirements for voter registration as H.R. 22, requiring photo identification together with proof of U.S. citizenship.

Introducing a new bill does not cancel or replace the earlier one. H.R. 22 remains pending in the Senate unless it is withdrawn or acted on, while H.R. 7296 began a separate legislative process in the House — one that, as it turned out, became the source text for S. 1383 rather than a bill sent independently to the Senate. (See It's Not One Bill — It's Three for why.)

Added Requirements

Under H.R. 7296, voters would be required to present photo identification when casting a ballot. Unless a state has already verified a voter's citizenship in its records, a standard driver's license that does not indicate citizenship would not be sufficient on its own.

In-person voting

• Voters must present an eligible photo identification document
• The document must be physical (not digital)
• The document must be presented at the polling place

Absentee voting

• Voters must include a copy of an eligible photo identification document:
  • With the request for an absentee ballot
  • With the returned absentee ballot

Eligible photo identification document

• The photo ID must be issued by one of the following authorities:
  • A state agency that issues driver's licenses
  • A state or local election office
  • A Native tribal government
  • The U.S. Department of State
  • The U.S. Department of Defense
  • A branch of the U.S. Armed Forces
• School and college IDs do not qualify
• The required photo ID to cast a ballot must contain:
  • A photograph of the voter
  • An indication that the voter is a U.S. citizen (unless citizenship has already been verified by the state)
  • One of the following: an identification number issued by the licensing authority, or the last four digits of the voter's Social Security number

Use of additional documentation with photo ID: A photo ID that does not indicate U.S. citizenship may only be used if it is presented together with another document that confirms U.S. citizenship.

Bill Status

• Introduced: January 30, 2026, by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
• Passed by the House: February 11, 2026 (Vote: 218–213).
• Current Senate Status: Not under direct consideration. Its language was used as the substitute text inserted into S. 1383 the same day it passed the House, and S. 1383 — not H.R. 7296 itself — became the bill carried forward in the Senate.

3) S.1383 (Federal Senate Bill)

Bill Summary

• Bill Website
• Bill Text

S.1383 originally began as a bill establishing the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access and passed the Senate by unanimous consent on December 18, 2025. The House later amended the bill by striking that original text entirely and replacing it with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act language from H.R. 7296 — making S. 1383 the legislative vehicle for the SAVE America Act rather than a brand-new bill. (See It's Not One Bill — It's Three for why Congress used this approach.)

The amended legislation would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections and would establish nationwide photo identification requirements for casting ballots in those elections.

Like the House SAVE Act proposals, the amended bill modifies portions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to establish new federal standards for voter registration verification and voter identification.

Citizenship Verification for Voter Registration

Under the amended bill, states could not accept or process a voter registration application for federal elections unless the applicant provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship at the time of registration.

The bill lists examples of acceptable documentation, including:

• Identification issued consistent with the REAL ID Act that indicates the applicant is a U.S. citizen
• A valid U.S. passport
• A U.S. military identification card together with military service records showing a U.S. place of birth

If the identification does not independently demonstrate citizenship, it may be used together with additional documentation such as:

• A certified birth certificate
• A hospital record of birth created at the time of birth
• A final adoption decree showing U.S. birth
• A Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• A Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship
• Other federal documentation proving citizenship under immigration law

Additional State Responsibilities

The amended bill would also require states to take ongoing steps to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote in federal elections. These provisions include:

• Requiring voter registration agencies and motor vehicle agencies to verify citizenship documentation during registration
• Establishing procedures to address discrepancies in names or documentation when verifying citizenship
• Allowing states to compare voter registration lists with federal immigration databases such as the SAVE system
• Requiring states to remove individuals from voter rolls when verified information shows they are not U.S. citizens
• Expanding coordination between state election systems and federal databases for citizenship verification, which may involve sharing voter registration information with federal agencies as part of that process

Federal Photo Identification Requirement for Voting

The amended bill would also create a new federal requirement for voters to present valid photo identification when casting a ballot in federal elections.

In-person voting
Voters would be required to present a valid physical photo identification before receiving a ballot.

Voting by mail or absentee
Voters submitting a ballot other than in person would need to include either:

• A copy of valid photo identification, or
• The last four digits of their Social Security number together with an affidavit stating that they were unable to obtain a copy of their photo identification after making reasonable efforts.

Acceptable photo identification could include:

• A state-issued driver's license with a photo
• A state-issued identification card with a photo
• A U.S. passport
• A military identification card
• A tribal identification card with a photo

If a voter does not present the required identification at the polling place, the bill allows the individual to cast a provisional ballot and later provide identification for the ballot to be counted.

Bill Status

• Introduced in the Senate: April 9, 2025 (originally the Veterans Accessibility Advisory Committee Act).
• Passed Senate (original bill text).
• Passed House with amendment replacing the bill text with the SAVE America Act: February 11, 2026.
• February 12, 2026: House amendment to the Senate bill received in the Senate and placed at the desk.
• March 17, 2026: The Senate voted 51–48 to approve a motion to proceed to the House-amended version of S.1383. The motion allows the Senate to begin debate and consider amendments but does not pass the bill.

Current Status

As of June 28, 2026, the bill has not passed and still appears to lack the 60 votes generally needed to overcome a filibuster. The Senate's March 17 vote to proceed allowed debate and amendments but did not lead to a final vote, and the bill never passed during that initial debate. Since then, Senate Republicans have twice tried a different route: attaching the SAVE America Act's core provisions to unrelated bills moving through the budget reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority rather than the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Both attempts failed by the same 48–50 margin, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitch McConnell (KY), and Thom Tillis (NC) joining every Democrat in opposition.

As of late June 2026, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he has no immediate plan to bring the SAVE America Act back to the floor. The bill has not been withdrawn, and supporters — including President Trump — have continued to press for another attempt, including by holding unrelated legislation until Congress sends him the SAVE Act. See What's the Latest on the SAVE Act? for more on that pressure campaign.

For the bill to become law, the Senate must still:

• Approve the amended bill text (or a revised version).
• Ensure the House and Senate pass identical language.
• Send the final bill to the President for signature or veto.

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How to Make Sure You Are Ready to Vote in Michigan

If you plan to vote in Michigan, the most important step is to make sure your voter registration and identification are up to date before Election Day. Michigan provides several tools that allow residents to check their registration status, update information, and understand what to bring to the polls.

1. Learn the Facts About Michigan Elections

The State of Michigan Secretary of State provides an Election Fact Center, where voters can get official information on Michigan elections and voting.

https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/election-fact-center

2. Check Your Voter Registration

Before every election, confirm that you are registered and that your address is correct. You can check your voter registration through the Michigan Voter Information Center:

Michigan Voter Information Center
https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us

This official state website allows you to:

• Verify your voter registration status
• Confirm your polling location
• View your ballot for upcoming elections
• Track absentee ballot requests and returns

If you are not registered, Michigan allows same-day voter registration, including on Election Day, at your local city or township clerk's office.

3. Register to Vote

You can register to vote in Michigan in several ways:

Online (if you have a Michigan driver's license or state ID)
https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/RegisterVoter

In person at your local clerk's office.

By mail using a voter registration form.

If registering within 14 days of an election, you must register in person at your local clerk's office and provide proof of residency.

4. Understand Michigan Voter ID Rules

Michigan law allows voters to cast a ballot even if they do not have photo identification available at the polling place.

When voting in person:

• If you have a photo ID, you will be asked to show it.
• If you do not have an ID, you can still vote by signing a voter identification affidavit affirming your identity.

Accepted photo IDs include:

• Michigan driver's license
• Michigan state ID card
• U.S. passport
• Military ID
• Tribal ID
• Student ID (from certain institutions)

5. Request an Absentee Ballot

Michigan voters have the option to vote absentee without providing a reason.

You can request an absentee ballot through the Michigan Voter Information Center: https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/AVApplication

You can:

• Request an absentee ballot
• Track your absentee ballot
• Verify it was received and counted

6. Nonpartisan Voting Information

Several nonpartisan organizations provide voter education tools to help people prepare for elections.

Vote411 (League of Women Voters)
https://www.vote411.org

Vote411 provides:

• Candidate information
• Ballot previews
• Voting deadlines
• Election information by address

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Final Tip

Election rules and deadlines can change, and local procedures may vary slightly by community. The best way to stay informed is to verify your information through the Michigan Secretary of State's voter information website and contact your local clerk's office if you have questions.

Checking your registration and understanding the process ahead of time can help ensure your vote is counted.

Copyright ©2026 | michwomen.com

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