The House will vote Wednesday afternoon on an election bill backed by President Donald Trump that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and require photo identification at the ballot box.
The SAVE America Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has been the focus of a pressure campaign from the White House, hard-line congressional Republicans and online influencers like Elon Musk.
Democrats and voting rights groups, meanwhile, say the legislation would disenfranchise millions of Americans, make it harder to register to vote, and put more power in the hands of Trump and the federal government ahead of what is expected to be a difficult midterm election for the GOP.
“It’s the president’s wishes that elections be turned over to him and his administration,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., referring to Trump’s recent comments about nationalizing American elections.
“He wants to do it because Republicans know that if the midterm elections go off as they expect they should … he will lose the majority of the House, probably lose the majority in the Senate,” Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal elections, told reporters on Tuesday.
