{"id":519196,"date":"2026-03-12T13:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/519196\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:54:13","slug":"whats-in-the-save-america-act-and-why-is-it-so-important-to-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/519196\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in the \u2018SAVE America Act\u2019 and why is it so important to Donald Trump?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The federal elections overhaul bill that\u2019s a top priority for President Donald Trump already faced near-impossible odds in the Senate, but the White House is making the \u201cSAVE America Act\u201d even more difficult to pass by insisting that Republicans load it up with additional controversial provisions.\n <\/p>\n

\n The version that passed the House last month \u2013 focused on adding strict new ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting \u2013 is not expected to get the approval <\/a>of the Senate because Republicans lack the votes to eliminate the filibuster, which allows the Democratic minority to block the bill.\n <\/p>\n

\n But Trump has doubled down<\/a>, commanding Republicans to add provisions that would end the widespread practice of no-excuse mail voting and target transgender policies that have been effective culture war fights for the GOP yet are unrelated to the running of elections.\n <\/p>\n

\n If either the current iteration of the bill, or the pie-in-the-sky version Trump is now reaching for, were to become law, it would be a massive disruption for this year\u2019s midterm elections. (Under an earlier draft of the \u201cSAVE America Act\u201d some of the provisions would have not taken effect until next year, but a last-minute change to the bill in the House makes those requirements take effect immediately upon enactment),\n <\/p>\n

\n Election experts say documented cases of voter fraud \u2013 especially voting by non-citizens \u2013 are exceedingly rare. The right-leaning Heritage Foundation\u2019s database<\/a> of confirmed fraud cases, for instance, shows fewer than 100 examples of noncitizens improperly casting ballots between 2000 and 2025.\n <\/p>\n

\n Currently, states that on their own are trying to implement proof of citizenship mandates for voting can only do so for state and local elections, so proponents of the federal legislation say it is a much-needed fix so states can enforce those requirements up and down the ballot. Critics say the legislation puts unnecessary burdens on voters, requiring them to present documents that millions of Americans don\u2019t have easy access to in order to exercise the franchise.\n <\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

\n Proof of Citizenship\n <\/p>\n

\n Individuals would have to present to election officials in person documents proving their citizenship, such as a birth certificate, US passport or a naturalization certificate, to register to vote. In cases such as marriage \u2013 where the name on a birth certificate doesn\u2019t match the voter\u2019s current name \u2013 voter registration applicants would be allowed to submit additional documents that explain the discrepancy.\n <\/p>\n

\n More than 21 million otherwise eligible voters do not have easy access to those citizenship documents, according to a survey conducted by the Brennan Center<\/a>, a left-leaning think tank that researches election issues, and other groups.\n <\/p>\n

\n Supporters of the bill have argued that a REAL ID, such as those required at airports, would suffice for meeting the citizenship document requirement. However, that is only true for the handful of states that issue REAL IDs that indicate a person\u2019s citizenship.\n <\/p>\n

\n Currently, voters simply sign an attestation, under penalty of perjury, that they are US citizens.\n <\/p>\n

\n Voter registration\n <\/p>\n

\n The bill would complicate a person\u2019s ability to register online or by mail, because those using those registration methods would have to still go to their election office in person to show their proof of citizenship.\n <\/p>\n

\n Jason Snead, a proponent of the bill who leads the Honest Elections Project, argued because an \u201coverwhelming majority of people register to vote in person through the DMV already,\u201d that extra step would not be a burden for most voters. Still, it would curtail the kinds of voter registration drives that are prominent in the lead-up to elections.\n <\/p>\n

\n Voter ID requirement\n <\/p>\n

\n The bill would require voters to present \u201cvalid photo identification\u201d to cast a ballot in federal elections. Acceptable forms of ID include state-issued driver\u2019s licenses, US passports, and those issued to military and tribal members. The bill does not include identification cards issued by schools and colleges among its acceptable photo IDs, which critics say unfairly targets younger voters.\n <\/p>\n

\n People seeking to vote by mail would need to submit copies of their IDs both when they request an absentee ballot and when they submit it, though there are some exceptions for some voters.\n <\/p>\n

\n Currently, there is no nationwide requirement for photo ID to vote, although many states mandate some form of voter ID to cast ballots.\n <\/p>\n

\n Voter roll database\n <\/p>\n

\n The bill sets out additional steps states would need to take to remove ineligible individuals from the lists of people who can vote in congressional and presidential elections.\n <\/p>\n

\n The measure urges states to verify voters\u2019 eligibility by using a federal citizenship-verification tool revamped last year by the Trump administration, as well as other databases. However, some state audits already conducted through that system have incorrectly tagged legitimate votes as suspected noncitizens, and dozens of Democratic officials at the state level have resisted the administration\u2019s efforts to obtain lists of voters in their states.\n <\/p>\n

\n Those voter roll verification mandates are why the bill\u2019s proof of citizenship would have such a broad reach. Not only would new voters be required to show citizenship documents when they register, currently registered voters whose citizenship status was put into doubt by the voter list reviews would have to provide the documents as well to stay on the rolls.\n <\/p>\n

\n Consequences for election officials and people unlawfully registered to vote\n <\/p>\n

\n The legislation adds new penalties for election officials who run afoul of the law. They would face criminal penalties if they register a person to vote who has not met the bill\u2019s proof of citizenship requirement.\n <\/p>\n

\n The legislation also seeks to give private individuals and groups the ability to file civil lawsuits against election officials for registering people who have not shown proof of citizenship.\n <\/p>\n

\n Additionally, the \u201cSAVE America Act\u201d would instruct the federal government to investigate and potentially deport non-citizens who have been unlawfully registered to vote.\n <\/p>\n

\n There is already a high turnover rate in election offices because of the threats and harassment administrators face, said Michael McNulty, the policy director of Issue One, an organization focused on democracy. The additional legal risks could \u201cexacerbate\u201d that turnover.\n <\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

\n Trump has repeatedly demanded that the legislation ends most mail-in voting altogether. He says that people should only be allowed to vote absentee if they\u2019re disabled, ill, serving in the military, or are traveling.\n <\/p>\n

\n Currently, 36 states and the District of Columbia<\/a> allow either no-excuse mail voting or conduct their elections entirely by mail, according to the National Conference of State Legislators.\n <\/p>\n

\n Given its widespread use in both red and blue states, getting Republicans united behind ending most mail voting would be a challenge. A separate elections overhaul bill, the \u201cMake Elections Great Again Act,\u201d which includes some mail-in voting prohibitions Trump wants has not advanced in either the House or Senate.\n <\/p>\n

\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune, asked Wednesday about Trump\u2019s proposal to end most mail voting, said \u201cthere were questions\u201d lawmakers were asking about the demand. \u201cI understand his passion,\u201d Thune said of Trump, and suggested a narrower proposal that would restrict the collection of mail ballots by third parties would have more support.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs a general rule, people requesting ballots, and they\u2019ve got legitimate reasons for requesting them, I think a lot of states use that process and use it pretty well,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump has said to add language in the legislation that would prohibit transgender athletes from playing on sports-teams aligned with their gender identity.\n <\/p>\n

\n Asked by CNN for specifics on the proposal, the White House pointed to comments by spokesperson Karoline Leavitt describing the legislation as \u201cpermanently\u201d banning \u201cmen from competing in women\u2019s sports.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump also wants language added that would ban \u201ctransgender mutilation of our children.\u201d It appears he is taking aim at surgeries associated with transgender care.\n <\/p>\n

\n It is already very rare for transgender minors to undergo surgical procedures, though in some states, trans minors can obtain hormonal treatments.\n <\/p>\n

\"Senate<\/p>\n

\n This week, Trump made clear that he wants to expand the legislation to advance other priorities. But even the version of the \u201cSAVE America Act\u201d that already passed the House faces near-insurmountable roadblocks in the Senate.\n <\/p>\n

\n Thune said this week that as a \u201cclear-eyed realist,\u201d Republicans would not have the 50 votes required to abolish the filibuster \u2013 the 60-vote procedural hurdle that allows Democrats to block the bill.\n <\/p>\n

\n To get around the reluctance to end the filibuster altogether, some conservative advocates have suggested that the Senate could force Democrats to stage a \u201ctalking filibuster,\u201d which would in theory put the onus on the legislation\u2019s opponents to continually make floor speeches to stall the bill. However, that idea does not have enough buy-in among Republicans, as it\u2019s seen as effectively nuking the filibuster.\n <\/p>\n

\n Senate leadership is planning to put the legislation up for a vote next week but is still working out what the process looks like procedurally, Thune told reporters this week.\n <\/p>\n

\n Trump was asked Wednesday about Thune\u2019s assessment of the vote problems in the Senate.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWell, he\u2019s got to be a leader,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN\u2019s Lauren Fox, Sarah Ferris and Adam Cancryn contributed to this report.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The federal elections overhaul bill that\u2019s a top priority for President Donald Trump already faced near-impossible odds in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-519196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}