Everything to know about the SAVE America Act voter ID-bill

The SAVE America Act is a top priority for President Donald Trump that he has been mentioning at every opportunity — in appearances before reporters in the Oval Office, at campaign-style rallies in rooms full of supporters and in musings on his Truth Social platform.

The Senate this week is expected to begin marathon debate on the elections bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot.

Trump, GOP hardliners and conservative influencers like Elon Musk say the Senate must pass the bill, which the House advanced in February. Democrats strongly oppose the legislation, and voting rights groups warn it could disenfranchise millions.

Here is a breakdown of what is in the bill, who it could affect and why it has been the subject of so much controversy:

Around 21 million Americans do not have documents proving their citizenship readily available and 2.6 million Americans lack government-issued photo ID of any kind, according to the Brennan Center for Justice and the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. Low-income and minority voters are more likely to lack the documents required in the SAVE America Act, and people who have changed their last names — primarily married women —would also face additional barriers to registering.

Democrats have also warned the SAVE America Act is part of a broader attempt by Trump to alter the outcome of the 2026 midterm elections, which will decide control of the House and Senate and set the tone for Trump’s final two years in office.

Trump for years has warned about the threats of noncitizen voting and claimed — without evidence — that U.S. elections are not secure. He has doubled down on these claims in recent months ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, warning he will be impeached for a third time if Democrats take back the House and Senate. Trump in recent months has called to nationalize elections and threatened to impose voter-ID laws and ban mail-in voting by executive order.

“The Save America Act is one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress, and America itself. NO MORE RIGGED ELECTIONS! Voter I.D., Proof of Citizenship, No Rigged Mail-In Voting (We are the only Country in the World that allows this!),” the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.