What Is the SAVE America Act, and Why Is It Controversial?

A bill that would change how Americans register to vote and cast ballots has cleared the House of Representatives and is generating intense debate. Here's what you need to know.

The bill is called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE Act. If it becomes law, it would require people to show physical documents proving they are U.S. citizens when they register to vote. Right now, voters simply sign a form stating they are citizens — and lying on that form is already a federal crime. The bill would also require a photo ID to vote in person, but with a shorter list of acceptable IDs than most states currently use. Student IDs, for example, would not be accepted. People who want to vote by mail would face tighter rules as well.

Critics argue the real effect of the bill would be to make it harder for certain groups of people to vote. Civil rights groups point out that many eligible voters — particularly Black Americans, Latino Americans, low-income people, and people with disabilities — are less likely to have the specific documents the bill would require. For instance, about two-thirds of Black adults in the United States do not have a passport, which would be one of the primary accepted forms of proof of citizenship. Organizations including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund have called the bill discriminatory, and Democratic leaders in Congress have compared it to the voter suppression laws that historically prevented Black Americans in the South from voting.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where it faces significant obstacles to passage.