The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a sweeping election overhaul bill that would require Americans to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register for the upcoming November midterm elections. In a narrow 218-213 vote on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, the Republican-led chamber approved the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act,” sending the contentious legislation to a deeply divided Senate.
The bill mandates that prospective voters produce a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, or other official citizenship documents during the registration process. It also introduces a nationwide photo ID requirement for casting ballots at the polls and imposes new restrictions on mail-in voting, requiring a copy of a valid ID to be included with absentee ballots. House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized the measure as a “common-sense safeguard” to ensure that only American citizens participate in federal elections, despite federal law already prohibiting non-citizen voting.
Democratic lawmakers and civil rights organizations have condemned the bill as an act of “voter suppression” that could disenfranchise millions of eligible citizens. Critics point out that approximately 50% of Americans do not possess a valid passport, and roughly 21 million citizens lack ready access to their birth certificates. Advocacy groups, including the Democratic Women’s Caucus, warned that the law would disproportionately affect married women, estimated at 69 million, whose current legal names do not match their birth records, creating significant bureaucratic hurdles just months before the election.
The legislation now faces a precarious path in the Senate. While Republicans hold a slim majority in the upper chamber, the bill requires 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Several moderate Republicans, including Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have expressed skepticism about upending election procedures so close to the midterms. However, President Donald Trump has made the bill a central pillar of his domestic agenda, urging “patriot” lawmakers to pass it immediately to “secure the nation’s borders and its ballot boxes.”
The passage of the SAVE America Act signals a potential shift in the ease of civic participation. If the bill were to clear the Senate and be signed into law, the new requirements would take effect immediately, potentially causing significant administrative delays for new registrants across the country as the 2026 primary season begins.
