If you have ever lived in a country that is not governed by a functional democratic system, you would probably notice that, by and large, its citizens hold a different standard for fairness and justice. For them, getting unmerited benefits through one’s connection to the powerful is entirely acceptable. In fact, forfeiting such a backdoor opportunity and going through proper channels is considered utterly foolish. However, it would be a mistake to assume that people in such a society are inherently dishonest. Since their culture does not stress the notion of fairness and justice as exercised in the United States, they find other ways to achieve the same end.
Many practices in China can be considered fraudulent when judged by American standards. But there is one institution that remains untouched by corruption – the annual National College Entrance Exam, also known as the Gaokao Exam. As long as I can remember, the process upholds the highest degree of integrity, standing as a startling aberration in Chinese culture. This is the area where one’s reward correlates with one’s performance irrespective of one’s connections and social status.
<h3>The Annual National College Entrance Exam</h3>
Why do the Chinese people behave so differently in this particular area? What drives them to overcome cultural norms and vigilantly guard the integrity of this examination process?
<div id="attachment_1059965" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1059965" class="size-large wp-image-1059965" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828188-864x576.jpg" alt="NANJING, CHINA - DECEMBER 20: Examinees review their study materials outside an examination site for the 2026 postgraduate entrance exam on December 20, 2025 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. 2026 China's national exam for postgraduate enrolment kicked off on December 20. (Photo by Liu Jianhua/VCG via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828188-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828188-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828188-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828188.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Liu Jianhua/VCG via Getty Images</div>
Confucianism, the primary philosophy in Chinese culture, puts great emphasis on education. Confucius believed that knowledge provides the foundation for morality. The more knowledge one has, the deeper one’s moral conviction becomes. Accordingly, a government official who is intelligent and learned would govern more judiciously, for such an erudite person certainly holds a higher moral standard. In the 7th century, the Chinese government formally began to select its administrators using a vigorous and elaborate system called the Imperial Examination. Through this process, the brightest and the most knowledgeable men were chosen to serve in government posts. In reality, however, a person’s high intelligence and profound knowledge did not necessarily reflect his moral conviction, nor his ability to govern. There have been plenty of immoral and incompetent government officials in Chinese history.
Nonetheless, success on the Imperial Examination can change one’s destiny, especially for those from a lower social stratum. In a culture where bribery receives tacit consent, holding a government post opens up endless opportunities for personal gain. This was the primary reason for the creation of a national obsession with education. Eventually, education became the national identity. After the Imperial Examination was abolished in 1905, the annual National College Entrance Exam – though with a much broader purpose – took its place in cultural significance. It was only briefly interrupted during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).
The survival of this national identity is entirely contingent upon the integrity of the examination process. Should corruption occur, such as changing one’s score or using an imposter as a substitute, education would lose its objective measure and become culturally meaningless. Indeed, any dishonesty would pose a direct threat to the existence of the national identity. Consequently, any misstep in the process must be categorically eliminated. Considering that Chinese culture is based on intricate and complex relationships and is highly prone to corruption, the successful guarding of the examination process is by no means a small feat.
<div id="attachment_1059967" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1059967" class="size-large wp-image-1059967" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828256-864x576.jpg" alt="FUYANG, CHINA - DECEMBER 20: Examinees walk out of an examination site for the 2026 postgraduate entrance exam on December 20, 2025 in Fuyang, Anhui Province of China. 2026 China's national exam for postgraduate enrolment kicked off on December 20. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828256-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828256-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828256-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2252828256.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />VCG/VCG via Getty Images</div>
<h3>What Sets America Apart?</h3>
What sets America apart from other nations? What is America’s national identity?
As an immigrant from an authoritarian regime, I can unequivocally state that America stands for freedom, human rights, and equality under the law. This identity is protected and secured by our political system of a constitutional republic, within which the right of the citizen to participate in different electoral processes serves as the linchpin.
However, America is not the only place that holds elections. I participated in an election in China during my senior year in high school in the 1980s. The whole process felt contrived and incongruent with the cultural environment I was in. Knowing very little about democracy and the value of voting, I simply followed the direction of the lady at the voting station who guided me to select the predetermined names. Authoritarian regimes can also call an election – and they often do – masquerading as lovers of democracy. But their process is only a sham, an exercise in fraud.
What sets America apart is its electoral integrity, the cornerstone and prerequisite of our political system that safeguards our national identity – freedom, rights, and equality under the law. For over 200 years, our electoral system has seldom faced challenges. For most Americans, electoral fraud is not just downright wrong but unthinkable. Indeed, our relatively lenient election law, compared with many other nations, suggests that electoral integrity is so engraved in the hearts and minds of the American people that it is taken for granted. Consequently, any claim of large-scale electoral fraud comes across as incredibly conspiratorial, provoking cognitive dissonance and will be met with denials.
Yet, electoral fraud does occur in America. Even before Covid, there were <a href="https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/108824/documents/HHRG-116-JU00-20190129-SD020.pdf">proven cases</a>. A look at the 2018 congressional race in North Carolina shows the result was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/us/mark-harris-nc-voter-fraud.html">overturned</a> by the state election board because of mail-in ballot fraud. In 2019, Elbert Melton, the mayor of Gordon, Alabama, was <a href="https://electionfraud.heritage.org/case/200627">convicted</a> of voter fraud and removed from office. And, of course, the electoral integrity of the 2020 election, in the midst of the Covid outbreak, still remains in question for many.
<h3>The New Threat To Electoral Integrity</h3>
Today we are facing yet another tangible threat. How can we prevent the illegal immigrants Biden’s open-border policy produced from participating in the voting process only granted to American citizens? The law that prohibits illegal immigrants from voting has not been strictly enforced. For instance, according to court documents, in Pennsylvania, an illegal immigrant who had been ordered to leave the United States was able to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/illegal-immigrant-charged-voting-pennsylvania-5-presidential-elections">cast ballots</a> in every presidential election since 2008. This is far from being an isolated case. The two million illegal immigrants the Trump administration has deported is still a small minority compared with the army of foreign voters the Biden administration intentionally let in. Today, they pose a substantial threat to electoral integrity.
<div id="attachment_816347" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-816347" class="size-large wp-image-816347" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/10/Untitled-design-43-1024x576.jpg" alt="A migrant caravan walks into the interior of Mexico after crossing the Guatemalan border on October 21, 2018 near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico The caravan of Central Americans plans to eventually reach the United States." width="1024" height="576" />(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)</div>
The Safeguard America Vote Eligibility Act (SAVE America Act) is specifically designed to deal with this threat, prohibiting states from registering voters who are not American citizens, requiring voter ID at the point of voting, and eliminating mail-in ballots with a few exceptions. The bill has already passed the House vote and is currently in the Senate. Yet, Senate democrats rallying around Chuck Schumer vowed to kill it.
If we fail to prevent electoral fraud from taking place, America would soon evolve into a nation no different from many other places where corruption, rather than law and order, marks the characteristics of the society. Citizens, ruled by a corrupt and unaccountable government, would live without freedom, rights, and the protection of law. America would lose her identity and cease to be America.
The Chinese, who are culturally lenient towards bribery and cheating, have meticulously protected the integrity of their examination process in order to safeguard their national identity. Should we, who hold a higher standard of honesty, do less?
<h3>American Identity</h3>
Further, if the Chinese lost their national identity, the obsession with education, China would still survive. At most, they would have a reduced number of highly educated people. However, if America forsook our national identity, America would not survive. America would become just like any other nation where tyranny replaces freedom, scarcity substitutes for prosperity, and obedience is swapped for liberty. America as the “city on a hill” would vanish in history. Consequently, the threat of electoral fraud we are facing is not just an inconsequential blunder, but an existential threat to our nation, the equivalent of a foreign invasion.
When the Japanese invaded China during WWII, the Chinese Communist Party of Mao and the Chinese Nationalist Party of Chiang Kai-shek temporarily joined forces in order to deal with their common threat. They recognized that if they allowed this threat to destroy their country, neither party would survive even though in peacetime they themselves had been rivals.
American citizens have recognized the common threat we are facing. Gallup polls show that 83% of Americans <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/652523/americans-endorse-early-voting-voter-verification.aspx#:~:text=Stacked%20bar%20chart%20showing%20Americans,applications%20to%20all%20eligible%20voters.">support</a> requiring proof of citizenship for first-time voter registration. Pew research also suggests that 83% of Americans are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/08/22/majority-of-americans-continue-to-back-expanded-early-voting-voting-by-mail-voter-id/#:~:text=Requiring%20all%20voters%20to%20show%20government%2Dissued%20photo%20identification%20(83%25)">in favor</a> of voter ID laws. These statistics reveal that SAVE America Act has received a wide range of support transcending political and ethnic barriers. Yet, in spite of the unity behind this bill, Senate Democrats – and a few Republicans – have been going all out to stop it, laying out various pretexts, such as discrimination against the poor who do not possess the required documents for proof of citizenship. 
<div id="attachment_1059985" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1059985" class="size-full wp-image-1059985" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266146798.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 12: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) (C) talks with reporters as he heads for the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 12, 2026 in Washington, DC. Thune is being pressured by conservatives to do away with the 60-vote cloture threshold and move the SAVE America Act forward, a priority for President Donald Trump going into the midterm elections. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" width="1024" height="574" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266146798.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266146798-300x168.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/GettyImages-2266146798-768x431.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</div>
The truth is that Democrats care little about the poor who are merely a useful tool in their power struggle. Neither do they care about Biden’s illegal population. Hiding behind egalitarianism is the real intention – using an illegal voting bloc to seize political power. Their willingness to sacrifice America in order to gain power is treasonous. Even ruthless Mao, a man responsible for the deaths of millions of Chinese, didn’t have the nerve to surrender his own country. Those who oppose this bill have managed to sink below the monstrous Mao.
Today, whether you are left or right, blue or red, we are facing a common threat, and have a mutual self-interest in electoral integrity, without which our freedom and rights will vanish. And we, too, will vanish with it. At this crucial moment before the midterms, we must get behind President Trump and demand that the Senate pass the SAVE America Act to save America.
* * *
Chenyuan Snider was raised in Communist China and majored in Chinese language and literature in college. After immigrating to the United States and studying at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity School, she became a professor at Christian colleges and seminaries. She and her husband live in Northern California and have two grown children.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Correction: The term Gaokao Exam refers to China&#8217;s annual National College Entrance Exam, not the Imperial Examination.

China’s Gaokao Exam Begins Grading

What China’s Exam System Taught Me About Saving America’s Elections

China

Congress

Democrats

Donald Trump

Election Fraud

Elections

Opinion

SAVE America Act

U.S. Senate

Voter ID

Voters

Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has broken with Democrats on multiple issues, is toeing the party line on the SAVE America Act, criticizing President Donald Trump over concerns about mail-in ballots and gender procedures for children on Wednesday night.
During an appearance on CBS News&#8217;s &#8220;The Takeout with Major Garrett,&#8221; Fetterman <a href="https://x.com/CBSNews/status/2031851997729632432">said</a> he doesn&#8217;t support the SAVE America Act &#8220;in its current state.&#8221; The legislation, which would establish strict voter ID requirements and limit the use of mail-in ballots, is Trump&#8217;s top priority for the Senate.
&#8220;The president is constantly critical on mail-in voting, and that&#8217;s ridiculous. It&#8217;s safe,&#8221; Fetterman said. &#8220;Some of the best examples in the country are from red states like Ohio and Florida, of course.&#8221;
&#8220;I can&#8217;t ever vote for that,&#8221; the Democrat added. &#8220;Because I could never agree [with] something that&#8217;s just not true.&#8221;
Fetterman highlighted how Republicans and Democrats passed legislation in Pennsylvania in 2019 to legalize mail-in voting. Two years later, following Trump&#8217;s 2020 loss, many Pennsylvania Republicans filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2019 voting law.
Along with imposing strict voter ID requirements and mail-in ballot rules, the SAVE America Act would also keep men from competing in women’s sports and protect children from gender procedures. Fetterman said he also opposes the effort from Trump and Republicans to pass legislation that would outlaw life-altering gender procedures on minors.
&#8220;That entire community, I refuse to target that or pick on that. It&#8217;s difficult enough for transgender kids, so I think this is the wrong venue to discuss it nationally,&#8221; Fetterman added.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a very personal choice for parents and their children,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And I think it&#8217;s increasingly going to become a more local or maybe state kind of decisions.&#8221;
Fetterman acknowledged that the &#8220;vast majority&#8221; of Americans support requiring people to show ID to register to vote, and he signaled that he would support legislation that focuses solely on enacting stricter voter ID requirements. Recent polls show that more than 80% of Americans back such restrictions.
&#8220;Hey, I&#8217;m not going to tell 83% of Americans that they&#8217;re wrong, or that they&#8217;re Jim Crow,&#8221; he said, referring to a talking point from many Democrats who have claimed that the SAVE America Act would disenfranchise more than 20 million voters and act as &#8220;Jim Crow 2.0.&#8221; Fetterman blasted Democrats&#8217; characterization of the SAVE America Act as &#8220;Jim Crow 2.0.&#8221;
&#8220;I would never refer to the SAVE Act as like Jim Crow 2.0 or some kind of mass conspiracy,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fetterman-slams-democrats-jim-crow-2-0-voter-id-rhetoric-party-unity-fractures">told</a> Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany during an appearance on &#8220;Saturday in America.&#8221;
Fetterman told CBS News that the SAVE America Act doesn&#8217;t stand a chance in the Senate &#8220;because of the filibuster.&#8221; The Democrat admitted that part of the reason he ran for Senate in 2022 was to help his party abolish the filibuster, adding, &#8220;But now we find ourselves as Democrats, we love the filibuster. We cling to that.&#8221;
President Trump has called on Republican leaders to change Senate rules and use the talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, legislation that he has called &#8220;the most popular bill put before Congress.&#8221; Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), however, has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-senators-final-plea-to-save-the-save-america-act?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=One+Senator%E2%80%99s+Final+Plea+To+Save+The+SAVE+America+Act">said</a> there isn&#8217;t enough Republican support to use the talking filibuster. Thune is expected to bring the SAVE America Act to the floor for a vote in the near future, but it&#8217;s likely to fall short of the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.

John Fetterman

‘Can’t Ever Vote For That’: Fetterman Swipes At Trump’s SAVE America Act

Politics

Republicans

Senate

A California voter ID proposal could land on the November ballot as debate over federal election policies intensifies.
Roughly 1.3 million petition signatures were submitted for verification — well above the 875,000 threshold required for a constitutional amendment pitch to go before voters, according to <a href="https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/03/california-voter-id-initiative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CalMatters</a>.
“This is a true, grassroots, broad-based, bipartisan movement. It’s about good government,” Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R-CA) said in a recent video regarding the effort.
“In November, we will strike a blow for democracy. We will improve public trust and confidence in our elections, and the fact that that frightens the establishment politicians who have failed us, we need to keep this bipartisan movement going,” DeMaio added.
Specifically, the initiative would require photo identification for those who choose to vote in person, or “the last four digits of a government-issued identification number when voting by mail.” Secondly, it would require proof of citizenship in order to be registered to vote.
It would also require the Golden State to “provide voter identification cards on request” and for election administrators to provide an annual update on the “percentage of each county’s voters whose citizenship they have verified.”
The amendment, if passed, would have “tens of millions” in “one-time” expenses, as well as “tens of millions of dollars to the low hundreds of millions of dollars to fulfill new requirements related to elections administration,” according to the Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance <a href="https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/initiative-and-referendum-status/initiatives-referenda-cleared-circulation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimate</a>.
Some of the key ideas in the proposal are similar to those outlined in the SAVE America Act, which President Donald Trump has been urging the Senate to pass.
“It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday.
“MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed, AND NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION &#8211; GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. &amp; PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY &#8211; ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!” he wrote.
Opposition to the California-based initiative remains, including from liberal groups such as the League of Women Voters of California and the American Civil Liberties Union.
“This voter ID measure is not about protecting voters; it is about importing the current federal administration’s election lies and intimidation tactics into California,” Jenny Farrell, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of California, said in a March 2 statement. “It would expose voters’ sensitive personal information, create new ways to reject eligible ballots, and wrongly target voters through error-prone citizenship checks.”

Residents Cast Ballots For US Presidential Election During Early Voting Period In California

Voter ID Could Land On Blue State Ballot As Debate Intensifies

Voter ID Proposal To Likely Land On Blue State Ballot Amid Federal Elections Fight

2026 election

California

election integrity

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would not sign any other legislation until he sees the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on his desk, passed by both chambers and ready for his signature.
Trump laid out his thoughts in a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116193527873859174">post</a> on Sunday morning, noting that the key issue addressed by the measure — requiring approved identification for voter registration — was an issue that had broad bipartisan support among voters.
Trump began with praise for activist Scott Pressler, who has been promoting the SAVE America Act and pushing Republicans in the Senate to employ the traditional (&#8220;talking&#8221;) filibuster in order to force a vote. The measure passed the House in February.
&#8220;Great Job by hard working Scott Pressler on &#8216;Fox &amp; Friends&#8217; talking about using the Filibuster, or Talking Filibuster, in order to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, an 88% issue with ALL VOTERS,&#8221; Trump posted, adding, &#8220;It must be done immediately.&#8221;
&#8220;It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed.&#8221;
The president went on to clarify that he wanted the SAVE America Act passed in its current form, with no concessions made in order to get it through the Senate.
&#8220;NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION — GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. &amp; PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY — ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!&#8221; Trump concluded, signing off, &#8220;President DONALD J. TRUMP.&#8221;
Because the SAVE America Act requires documentation of citizenship for voter registration, it would force the vast majority of voters to register in person rather than online or through the mail. Voter ID would also be required for all federal elections.
The SAVE Act would also require all voter registration data to go through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for verification, and would direct states to routinely review voter rolls to ensure that non-citizens were not included. In addition, criminal penalties would apply to any state official who registered voters who did not show the proper documentation.
The bill would also impose strict limits on mail-in ballots, restricting their use to members of the military or those impacted by illness, disability, or travel.
Despite broad support for the bill from voters across both parties, most prominent Democrats have come out against it, claiming that requiring voters to show a passport or birth certificate would disenfranchise voters who did not have access to those documents.

President Donald Trump Meets With German Chancellor Friedrich Merz At The White House

‘FRONT OF THE LINE’: Trump Says He Won’t Sign A Thing Until SAVE Act Hits His Desk

'FRONT OF THE LINE': Trump Says He Won't Sign A Thing Until SAVE Act Hits His Desk

Voter Registration

President Donald Trump called for Republicans to get a national voter ID law passed ahead of the midterm elections, saying that he would take executive action if Congress could not get it done.
Trump’s call comes after the SAVE America Act requiring photo identification and proof of citizenship to vote in elections <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-revamped-bill-to-prevent-illegal-immigrants-from-voting-senate-battle-looms">passed</a> the House on Wednesday and headed to the Senate.
“We cannot let the Democrats get away with NO VOTER I.D. any longer. These are horrible, disingenuous CHEATERS. They have all sorts of reasons why it shouldn’t be passed, and then boldly laugh in the backrooms after their ridiculous presentations,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “If it weren’t such a serious matter, it would be considered a TOTAL JOKE! No Voter I.D. is even crazier, and more ridiculous, than Men playing in Women’s Sports, Open Borders, or Transgender for Everyone.”
Trump said Republicans should be talking about the issue in every speech, pointing to polling that most Americans support voter ID laws.
“This is an issue that must be fought, and must be fought, NOW!” Trump said. “If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order.”
Trump said that if Democrats took back power, they would move to make Washington, D.C.,  and Puerto Rico states, pack the Supreme Court, and remove the filibuster in the Senate.
“Our Country will never be the same if they allow these demented and evil people to knowingly, and happily, destroy it,” Trump said.
According to the <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id">National Conference of State Legislatures</a>, &#8220;Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls. The remaining 14 states and Washington, D.C., use other methods to verify the identity of voters. Most frequently, other identifying information provided at the polling place, such as a signature, is checked against information on file.&#8221;
After the House passed the SAVE America Act on Wednesday, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has been pushing for it to move forward in the Senate. He has already picked up 49 Republican co-sponsors of the legislation and got commitment to support the bill from Senator Susan Collins (R-ME).
In a <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/2022447031386804662">video</a> posted to social media, Lee said that Republicans in the Senate should now move forward to debate and force Democrats to use the “talking filibuster” instead of the “zombie filibuster.”
Polling <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-undercuts-democrat-voter-suppression-claims">released</a> by Cygnal this week found that 72% of white voters, 69% of Hispanic voters, and 56% of black voters support requiring identification at the polls.

President Trump And EPA Administrator Zeldin Make An Announcement From The White House

Trump Floats Executive Action On Voter ID If Congress Doesn’t Act

2026 Midterms

Election Laws

Mike Lee

The following is an edited transcript excerpt from &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1910-breaking-trans-school-shooter-murders-nine-in-canada?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.&#8221;
* * *
In the last couple of days, the media has been forced to acknowledge reality on multiple fronts, beginning with one of the most controversial bills going through Congress right now. Senator Mike Lee, a great Republican senator, is the champion behind the bill and it’s called the SAVE Act.
What is the SAVE Act? It&#8217;s the Safeguard American Voting Eligibility Act, which says you need to prove that you&#8217;re eligible to vote if you want to vote. 
Simple, right? This should easily pass.
Not only can they not get the Democrats to vote for it — because Democrats want the illegals to vote so that they can rig elections and steal votes from the American people — apparently, the Republicans can&#8217;t even get the Republicans to vote for this. Senate Majority Leader John Thune says there aren&#8217;t anywhere close to the votes to nuking the filibuster, which would be required to get the SAVE Act through. So, although that idea continues to be put out there, it doesn&#8217;t have a future.
Making Americans submit ID in order to vote — safeguarding American elections in the most basic way — doesn&#8217;t have a future, not just because of Democrats who obviously don&#8217;t want to secure our elections, but because of Republicans.
So, you might say, well, some of these senators, you know, they&#8217;re representing whole states and some of those states are kind of purple. You know, maybe this is really a controversial issue. You know, the Democrats hate voter ID and maybe it&#8217;s controversial among Republicans.
Thank you Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
Here’s what CNN has to say about the issue:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Voter ID is overwhelmingly popular with everyone except Democrat politicians.
CNN: &#8220;The bottom line is this: Voter ID is not controversial in this country&#8230; it is not controversial by party and it is not controversial by race.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/XYzmcnTw1s">pic.twitter.com/XYzmcnTw1s</a>
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/2021289992971055217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @RNCResearch/X.com
<blockquote>What&#8217;s the racial breakdown on this? Because I think a lot of people make the argument that people of color, nonwhite Americans, have a harder time procuring a photo ID to vote. But even here, take a look here. Favor photo ID to vote: 85% of white people favor it, 82% of Latino voters, 76% of Black Americans favor it. So the bottom line is this: voter ID is not controversial in this country. A photo ID to vote is not controversial in this country. It is not controversial by party, and it is not controversial by race. The vast majority of Americans agree with Nicki Minaj that, in fact, you should have a photo ID to be able to vote.</blockquote>
Not controversial in the least.
I was surprised by these racial polls — and actually by the partisan poll too. Basically every Republican supports voter ID, but even 71% of Democrats favor voter ID. Yet zero percent of Democrats who are in elected office support voter ID.
You have 76% of Black people — this is the most reliably Democrat racial group, the group that we are told is specifically being disenfranchised by voter ID — more than three quarters of them support voter ID.
When you look at Latinos, it&#8217;s even higher: 82%. We&#8217;re told Latinos are being discriminated against, it&#8217;s hard for them to get ID.
And white people are close to the Latinos at 85%.
Everybody supports voter ID except for elected Democrats, none of whom support voter ID. Why? Because they are trying to steal elections. This isn&#8217;t tinfoil hat stuff. This is the only way to explain the discrepancy between elected Democrats — politicians, operatives, activists — and ordinary voters. Basically everyone in the country supports voter ID. The only people who don&#8217;t are the ones who particularly work to run and win elections.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1910-breaking-trans-school-shooter-murders-nine-in-canada?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show on DailyWire+</a></h3>
What you&#8217;re going to hear from the establishment media is, well, actually, you know, it&#8217;s very rare for illegal aliens to vote in elections. It&#8217;s very rare for people who are ineligible to vote in elections.
Right. Sure. Okay. 
The libs have told you a lot of lies over the years, and I&#8217;m not going to go through the litany of them now but I just want to take you back a few months.
Do you remember when the Democrats shut the government down? The Democrats shut the government down because they wanted to try to juice their numbers before some special elections. And the Republicans came out and said you&#8217;re shutting the government down in order to give health care to illegal aliens.
And the Democrats uniformly said, no, we are not. We do not give health care to illegal aliens. That is not true. That&#8217;s a lie.
By the end of the shutdown, the Democrats were inveighing against the Republicans because they said this is so awful — illegal aliens can&#8217;t get food, they&#8217;re losing their health care, they&#8217;re losing their SNAP benefits. They completely contradicted themselves over the course of weeks. Not years, not even months but weeks. They told you illegal aliens don&#8217;t get health care and welfare, and then they told you we have to reopen the government so that illegal aliens can get health care and welfare again.
The Democrats tell you that illegal aliens are not voting, but they are fighting tooth and nail against the vast majority of their own voters to prevent voter ID. Why? I think it might have something to do with the fact that illegal aliens are voting. The Democrats are counting on illegal aliens to vote. Even beyond illegal aliens, there are plenty of other ineligible voters who are not illegal aliens — voters who maybe are bussed in from out of district, voters who maybe because of felonies or other issues are not allowed to vote. Regardless, they need to minimize ballot security measures.
The only explanation—the only explanation—for the Democrats to fight against their own voters on this issue is that they want to steal elections. If you don&#8217;t get that at this point, I don&#8217;t know how to help you.

Americans Go To The Polls In The 2024 Elections

CNN Polling Cuts Against A Key Democrat Narrative

Michael Knowles

Voter Integrity

Voting

Polling firm Cygnal released a new survey on Wednesday showing broad support for voter identification requirements, including a majority backing among black, Hispanic, and white voters. The poll found that 72% of white voters, 69% of Hispanic voters, and 56% of black voters support requiring identification at the polls.  
“Hakeem Jeffries seems to think voter ID is voter suppression, but when you actually ask voters, 70% of American voters overall, 75% of swing voters, 69% of hispanics, 56% of black voters, and even 46% of democrats support voter ID,” said pollster and Senior Partner John Rogers. He added that Republicans view the issue as politically advantageous heading into the midterms. “It shows Republicans have another winning issue heading into the midterms if they lean into it with confidence.”
Jeffries has <a href="https://jeffries.house.gov/2026/02/08/leader-jeffries-on-cnn-we-need-to-ensure-that-there-are-legislative-changes-enacted-as-part-of-any-dhs-spending-bill/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">opposed</a> the SAVE Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, arguing that the GOP is attempting to discourage voter participation. &#8220;What Republicans are trying to do is to engage in clear and blatant voter suppression,&#8221; said Jeffries. &#8220;They know that if there&#8217;s a free and fair election in November, they&#8217;re going to lose.&#8221;
The House passed a version of the bill in the fall, which is now under consideration in the Senate.
The Cygnal poll was conducted from February 3-4 among 1,500 likely 2026 midterm voters and has a margin of error of 2.51%. It found 70% support for requiring voter ID for federal elections, compared with 26% opposed. Support was strongest among Republicans at 92%, while 46% of Democrats said they favor voter ID requirements.
Cygnal’s findings align with other national surveys. A Gallup poll conducted last fall found that <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/652523/americans-endorse-early-voting-voter-verification.aspx#:~:text=requiring%20photo%20identification%20to%20vote%20(84%25)">84%</a> of Americans favor voter ID requirements, while the Pew Research Center reported almost identical findings, with <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/02/voter-id-is-overwhelmingly-popular-with-literally-everyone-except-democrat-politicians/">83%</a> support.
The SAVE Act would mandate that states obtain documentary proof of American citizenship before registering to vote in federal elections and would require the removal of noncitizens from voter rolls. 
In order for the SAVE Act to pass the Senate, a simple majority of fifty-one votes is required. However, the bill would need 60 votes to overcome a potential filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has expressed support for voter ID requirements but acknowledged the measure might lack the votes to advance. &#8220;How we get to that vote remains to be seen,&#8221; he said.

TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-POLITICS-EARLY VOTING

Poll Undercuts Democrat ‘Voter Suppression’ Claims

Hakeem Jeffries

John Thune

Poll

Two top Democrats put in some extra effort to oppose voter identification initiatives — even as polling indicates that a broad majority of their own voters favor the policy.
Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) joined ABC&#8217;s Jonathan Karl and CNN&#8217;s Dana Bah, respectively, to explain why they have continued to oppose a policy that has overwhelming support from both parties and across multiple demographics.
On &#8220;This Week,&#8221; Karl referenced a recent Pew Research Center poll in which 83% of respondents said they would support voter identification requirements — and that when broken down by party, 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats would support such measures.
&#8220;Is that something that you can support? And if not, why?&#8221; Karl asked.
&#8220;It&#8217;s still going to be something, Jonathan, it&#8217;s still going to be something that disenfranchises people that don&#8217;t have the proper Real ID, driver&#8217;s license ID that don&#8217;t have the ID necessary to vote even though they are citizens,&#8221; Schiff claimed. &#8220;This is another way to simply try to suppress the vote. And the last thing I think we want to do is discourage more people, more citizens from voting.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A new Pew Research Center poll shows that 71% of Democrats are in favor of requiring photo ID to vote. Sen. Adam Schiff disagrees, telling ABC News&#8217; <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> that it is “another way to simply try to suppress the vote.” <a href="https://t.co/Sp8hHSWy8u">https://t.co/Sp8hHSWy8u</a> <a href="https://t.co/2sHLJlXXjL">pic.twitter.com/2sHLJlXXjL</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/2020519592213332200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On CNN&#8217;s &#8220;state of the Union,&#8221; Jeffries could easily have been reading from the same script as Schiff as he responded to a similar lines of questioning from anchor Dana Bash.
&#8220;I understand that you don&#8217;t support things like a passport, for example,&#8221; Bash began. &#8220;But requiring basic ID in order to vote is really popular. A Pew poll from a few months ago showed 83% of Americans, including 71% of your fellow Democrats, support requiring an ID to vote. Why are they wrong?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries calls commonsense voter ID — which 83% of Americans support, including Democrats — &#8220;voter suppression.&#8221;
Why are Democrats against ensuring only Americans are voting in American elections? <a href="https://t.co/JW7gKIRAN0">pic.twitter.com/JW7gKIRAN0</a>
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/2020505673663148136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I haven&#8217;t said that they&#8217;re wrong,&#8221; Jeffries insisted before explaining why he was still opposed to the measure. &#8220;We know that states are the ones that are empowered to conduct elections, and every state should be allowed to decide the best way to proceed to ensure that there&#8217;s a free and fair election.&#8221;
&#8220;The question is that — what Republicans are trying to do is to engage in clear and blatant voter suppression,&#8221; he added.
Neither one explained why it was &#8220;suppression&#8221; to require voters to have the same kind of identification already required for people who want to purchase alcohol or cigarettes, travel by air, open a bank account, pick up a prescription, or receive government benefits — among other things.

Senators Kaine And Schiff Discuss Venezuela And The War Powers Resolution

Top Dems Scramble To Explain Why They’re On The Wrong Side Of Voter ID

Top Dems Scramble To Explain Why They're On The Wrong Side Of Voter ID

Adam Schiff

Media

Over the weekend, famed rapper Nicki Minaj posted a message on X that went astonishingly viral, with 55 million views, in which she decried the efforts of leftists to quash the idea of voter ID, which would require voters to show a photo identification to vote.
“What sensible forward thinking cutting edge leading nation is having a DEBATE on whether or not there should be VOTER ID?!?!!!! Like?!?!? They’re actually fighting NOT to have ppl present ID while voting for your leaders!!!!! Do you get it?!?!!!! Do you get it now?!?!!!” she asked.
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What sensible forward thinking cutting edge leading nation is having a DEBATE on whether or not there should be VOTER ID?!?!!!! Like?!?!? They’re actually fighting NOT to have ppl present ID while voting for your leaders!!!!! Do you get it?!?!!!! Do you get it now?!?!!!
&mdash; Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/2018174304123326788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
As a CNN poll revealed on Tuesday, the vast majority of Americans agree with her.
“The American people are with Nicki Minaj,” CNN pollster Harry Enten declared. “I got all this polling on the screen going back since 2018. You&#8217;ll notice on all of it, it&#8217;s all north of 75 percent, 76 percent, 76 percent, 76 percent, 81 percent, and then 83 percent in the last year of Americans. Agree with Nicki Minaj, they favor photo ID to be able to vote.&#8221;
“What about by party? What&#8217;s the party breakdown?” CNN anchor John Berman asked.
“Normally you might expect, hey, there&#8217;d be a big divide by party with Republicans really for it and Democrats really against it,” Enten replied. “But not really here. I mean just take a look here, favor photo ID to vote. You got 95 percent of Republicans, pretty much all of them, but even 71 percent of Democrats favor photo ID to vote. So again, Nicki Minaj posting that on X. And what you see is, is that the American people — actually it&#8217;s not really all that controversial. The American people are with Nicki Minaj, whether they are Republican or even if they are Democrats. We&#8217;re talking about seven in ten Democrats agreeing with Nicki Minaj that you, in fact, should show a voter photo ID to vote.”
“I think a lot of people make the argument that people of color, nonwhite Americans, have a harder time procuring a photo I.D. to vote,” Enten continued. “But even here, take a look here, favor photo ID to vote. Eighty-five percent of white people favor it. Eighty-two percent of Latinos. Seventy-six percent of black Americans favor it.”
“So, the bottom line is this: voter I.D. is not controversial in this country,” Enten asserted. “A photo ID to vote is not controversial in this country. It is not controversial by party, and it is not controversial by race. The vast majority of Americans agree with Nicki Minaj that, in fact, you should have a photo ID to be able to vote.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨 CNN polling analyst Harry Enten: &quot;The vast majority of Americans agree with Nicki Minaj that, in fact, you should have a photo ID to be able to vote.&quot;&quot;
The CNN poll found the following support in for requiring a photo ID to vote:
85% of Whites 82% of Latinos 76% of Blacks… <a href="https://t.co/lx3o7850WQ">pic.twitter.com/lx3o7850WQ</a>
&mdash; Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanSaavedra/status/2018950956050768290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Asked recently what spurred her entry into politics, Minaj answered, “The last thing that really did it was me seeing certain things this recent presidential campaign and knowing that I could help. &#8230; Sometimes people can push you so much that they push you all the way into your next calling.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NICKIMINAJ</a> explains her political awakening on the <a href="https://twitter.com/katiemillerpod?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katiemillerpod</a>: &quot;The last thing that really did it was me seeing certain things this recent presidential campaign&#8230;and knowing that I could help.&quot;
&quot;Sometimes people can push you so much that they push you all the way into… <a href="https://t.co/qIxpQkUysn">pic.twitter.com/qIxpQkUysn</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2018423605973975100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Democrats who have opposed voter ID have included former President Joe Biden, who <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/26/joe-biden-live-updates/">compared</a> Georgia&#8217;s 2021 voting law to &#8220;Jim Crow in the 21st century,”: former Vice President Kamala Harris, who opposed strict ID requirements, referenced a case where a judge <a href="https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2020/09/28/harris-to-voters-dont-give-up-as-trump-rushes-court-pick/">claimed</a> such laws “targeted African-Americans with almost surgical precision,”: Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/raphael-warnock-opposed-voter-id-laws-georgia">argued</a> in 2016, &#8220;All of these voter suppression laws saying we&#8217;ve got to have voter ID laws because if we don&#8217;t they might vote twice. Are you kidding?” and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who opposes the Make Elections Great Act, <a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/top-dems-gops-monster-voter-suppression-bill-is-dead-on-arrival/">saying</a>, “Voter suppression is part of the Republican plan to try desperately to hold on to power.”

World Premiere Of “Barbie” – Arrivals

55 Million Views And A Reality Check: Nicki Minaj Was Right About Voter ID

Nicki Minaj

WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the partial government shutdown would continue if a major voter registration bill known as the “SAVE Act” is included in government spending legislation. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is leading an effort to have the measure added to the package.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require states to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity to register to vote, a requirement already in place in a small number of states.
&#8220;I have said it before and I&#8217;ll say it again, the SAVE Act would impose Jim Crow-type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate,&#8221; Schumer said in a statement on Monday. &#8220;It is a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to. If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown.”
&#8220;Let&#8217;s be clear, the SAVE Act is not about securing our elections,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It is about suppressing voters. The SAVE Act seeks to disenfranchise millions of American citizens, seize control of our elections, and fan the flames of election skepticism and denialism,” adding that it is “reminiscent of Jim Crow era laws and would expand them to the whole of America.”
“Republicans want to restore Jim Crow and apply it from one end of this country to the other. It will not happen. Democrats will go all out to defeat the SAVE Act and defend free and fair elections.”
Luna responded to the reports of Schumer’s opposition by posting on X that “the SAVE Act is dead on arrival unless Thune removes the filibuster or Democrats break from Schumer to save their own billions of dollars in projects.”
The Senate sent five spending bills and a short-term Department of Homeland Security continuing resolution to the House under a deal between the White House and Schumer to split DHS funding from the other appropriations measures, allowing immigration negotiations to continue without a prolonged government shutdown.
The House had already passed six appropriations bills prior to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a leftist protester who was killed by federal immigration agents last month. If the House makes further changes to the spending package, it will have to return to the Senate. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he wants to see the shutdown end by Tuesday.
“Our intention is by Tuesday, all agencies of the federal government, except for that one, and then we’ll have two weeks of good faith negotiations, to figure it out,” Johnson told the NBC News program. “Republicans are going do the responsible thing and fund the government.”
The House Rules Committee is expected to meet at 4 p.m. to begin the procedural steps needed to bring the funding bills to the floor.

Chuck Schumer

Schumer Warns Shutdown Will Continue If Major Proposal Is Added To Funding Package

Anna Paulina Luna

Government Shutdown

House Republicans are urging their Senate colleagues to quickly pass election integrity legislation that has been idling in the Upper Chamber for nearly a year.
In a letter exclusively obtained by The Daily Wire, Texas Congressman Brandon Gill and 34 of his colleagues press Senate Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to schedule a markup of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and advance it to the Senate floor ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
&#8220;American elections should be fair and free, not subject to foreign influence. Illegal aliens have no right to be in America, and they certainly shouldn’t be voting,” said Rep. Gill about the letter. “House Republicans are united behind the SAVE act. I urge my Senate colleagues to pass this legislation and get it to President Trump’s desk for his signature.”
The SAVE Act would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require documentary proof of American citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization papers, when registering to vote in federal elections. It also directs states to establish processes to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls and authorizes penalties for election officials who fail to comply.
Supporters argue the legislation addresses a documented vulnerability in the current system. Republican officials note that states, including Texas and Ohio, have identified thousands of noncitizens on voter rolls, and contend that existing law makes it difficult to require proof of citizenship at the point of registration. The SAVE Act, they argue, would close those gaps and ensure that only United States citizens participate in federal elections.
The letter highlights growing frustration among House Republicans over the Senate’s inaction on the bill, which passed the House on April 10, 2025, by a 220–208 vote.
&#8220;The House did our job nearly 300 days ago. The Senate needs to do theirs,&#8221; said Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-Texas), who signed the letter along with many of his fellow committee members. &#8220;The Senate needs to stop stalling &#8230; and get it to the floor. Representative Gill&#8217;s letter is exactly the pressure we need to get this to President Trump&#8217;s desk.&#8221;
Lawmakers argue that further delay risks leaving election integrity reforms unresolved as the midterms approach, and McConnell’s position as committee chairman gives him the authority to move the legislation forward.
The push comes as Republicans continue to elevate election security as a central policy priority. In late January 2026, Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the SAVE America Act, an expanded proposal that builds on the original SAVE Act by adding nationwide photo identification requirements for federal elections.
The Senate version of the SAVE Act has drawn significant Republican support, with 48 GOP senators listed as cosponsors. Still, the legislation would likely require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the narrowly divided Senate, making some level of bipartisan backing necessary.
The letter also points to public support for citizenship requirements, including an October 2024 Gallup poll that found 83% of Americans support requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, including a majority of registered Democrats.
“If you can’t prove your citizenship, you shouldn’t be able to vote. Anyone opposed to the SAVE Act wants to benefit from fraud, which undermines election security and gives illegal immigrants more power than law-abiding Americans,” said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), one of the letter&#8217;s cosignatories. “I’m calling on the Senate to advance this bill quickly so we can strengthen and secure our elections.”
If enacted before the 2026 midterms, proponents say the SAVE Act would significantly strengthen voter registration standards nationwide while restoring public confidence in the electoral process. Critics and election administrators, however, have raised concerns about implementation timelines and administrative burdens absent additional federal support.
As the midterm elections draw closer, House Republicans are signaling impatience with Senate inaction and pressing leadership to move, as one cosigner said, &#8220;Republicans were sent to Washington to fix a broken system, not to make excuses.” Whether McConnell takes up the bill may determine not only the fate of the SAVE Act, but how central election integrity becomes in the next national campaign cycle.

Sen. Mitch McConnell

House Republicans Push Senate To Pass Voter Integrity Bill Before The Midterms

Brandon Gill

Mitch McConnell

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) <a href="https://x.com/Breaking911/status/2016596630141587664">announced</a> Wednesday that Republicans intend to overhaul the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to include a mandatory photo identification requirement for federal elections. GOP leadership says the change is intended to close what they view as a significant gap in existing election integrity laws.
While the original version of the SAVE Act, which passed the House in April 2025, focused primarily on requiring documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) at the point of voter registration, Thune noted that it lacked a specific requirement for photo identification at the polling place.
&#8220;I cosponsored the SAFE Act in the past; my understanding is that they are still modifying the bill,&#8221; Thune told reporters. &#8220;It includes, right now, a requirement that you be a citizen to register to vote but it doesn’t include a requirement that to vote you be a resident. So, in other words, if you’re going to have what we call voter ID, photo ID, when somebody goes into the ballot box to vote, that’s not currently covered in the bill. So that’s being fixed and addressed, and I think the new bill that comes out will deal with that. &#8230; I’m for it; I think most of our colleagues in the Senate are.”
The SAVE Act, originally introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/128/text">would amend</a> the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Its core provisions currently include:
<ul>
<li>Mandatory Proof of Citizenship: Requiring passports, birth certificates, or military records to register.</li>
<li>Roll Maintenance: Compelling states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls.</li>
<li>Criminal Penalties: Establishing federal charges for officials who register ineligible individuals.</li>
</ul>
The proposed amendment would establish a uniform photo ID requirement nationwide. Currently, voter ID laws vary by state, with 36 states requiring some form of identification and 14 states relying on signature matching or verbal attestation instead.
Proponents of the measure cite high public confidence in ID requirements. Recent data suggests that 80% of Americans favor photo ID laws, including 97% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 53% of Democrats. Furthermore, 77% of minority voters reportedly support such measures.
Critics, however, argue that strict ID requirements and the elimination of mail-in registration could disproportionately burden voters without easy access to government-issued documents. Despite these concerns, supporters cite a National Bureau of Economic Research study that found such laws have no statistically significant negative effect on overall voter turnout.
The bill now awaits further action in the Senate, where it is expected to face a difficult path along party lines, despite Thune’s confidence that &#8220;most&#8221; of his colleagues support the revision.

Senate Passage Of Government Spending Package In Doubt As Democrats Seek Changes To DHS Funding

Republicans Move To Mandate Photo ID In Federal Elections

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