SAVE Act

Senate Bill

S. 128

119th Congress

SAVE Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 16, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Mike Lee

R - UT

Cosponsors

30

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Government Operations and Politics

Summary

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Acceptable documents include REAL ID-compliant identification indicating citizenship. States must establish alternative evidence processes and ongoing programs to identify and remove non-citizens from voter rolls. The bill creates criminal penalties and private lawsuit rights against officials who register applicants without citizenship documentation.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Introduced1/16/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

ChamberSenate

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

SAVE Act

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Acceptable documents include REAL ID-compliant identification indicating citizenship. States must establish alternative e

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Acceptable documents include REAL ID-compliant identification indicating citizenship. States must establish alternative evidence processes and ongoing programs to identify and remove non-citizens from voter rolls. The bill creates criminal penalties and private lawsuit rights against officials who register applicants without citizenship documentation.

Bill Number: 128
Introduced: 1/16/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Policy Area: Government Operations and Politics

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: SAVE Act
Bill Number: 128
Sponsor: No sponsor
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Introduced: 1/16/2025
Summary: The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Acceptable documents include REAL ID-compliant identification indicating citizenship. States must establish alternative evidence processes and ongoing programs t

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Acceptable documents include REAL ID-compliant identification indicating citizenship. States must establish alternative evidence processes and ongoing programs to identify and remove non-citizens from voter rolls. The bill creates criminal penalties and private lawsuit rights against officials who register applicants without citizenship documentation.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE ActThis bill requires individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.Specifically, the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill specifies what documents are considered acceptable proof of U.S. citizenship, such as identification that complies with the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates U.S. citizenship.Further, the bill (1) prohibits states from registering an individual to vote in a federal election unless, at the time the individual applies to register to vote, the individual provides documentary proof of U.S. citizenship; and (2) requires states to establish an alternative process under which an applicant may submit other evidence to demonstrate U.S. citizenship.Each state must take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote, which shall include establishing a program to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by certain sources.Additionally, states must remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.The bill allows for a private right of action against an election official who registers an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.The bill establishes criminal penalties for certain offenses, including registering an applicant to vote in a federal election who fails to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Requires documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote
Accepts REAL ID-compliant identification
States must establish alternative evidence processes
Mandates ongoing non-citizen identification and removal programs
Criminal penalties and private right of action for violations

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill significantly increases voter registration requirements by mandating citizenship documentation. Supporters argue it prevents non-citizen voting. Critics contend non-citizen voting is extremely rare and the requirements would burden eligible citizens who lack readily available documentation. The private right of action could enable challenges to registration decisions across the country.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Government Operations and Politics

Related Subjects

Citizenship and naturalization

Civil actions and liability

Criminal procedure and sentencing

Election Assistance Commission

Elections, voting, political campaign regulation

Government information and archives

Immigration status and procedures

Licensing and registrations

Postal service

State and local government operations

+1 more

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

128, 119th Congress (2025). "SAVE Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-128

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