Every American deserves to know our elections are safe. There’s no room for debate there, and that’s the whole idea behind the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE America Act. It’s a commonsense effort to strengthen trust in our elections and ensure that only American citizens’ votes count. 

The SAVE America Act serves two essential purposes: 

1. It requires a photo ID to vote. 

2. It requires every state to confirm U.S. citizenship when someone first registers to vote. 

We know it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote in our federal races, but the reality is, it still occurs across the nation. Our system doesn’t consistently require proof of citizenship, leaving room for error and the ability for bad actors to exploit the system. When it’s something as fundamental and non-negotiable as our vote, there should be no uncertainty. The SAVE America Act makes sure of this.

By mandating proof of citizenship to vote, it strengthens states’ abilities to expunge non-citizens from their voter rolls. The act also provides states with the tools to quickly verify voter eligibility and guidance for holding officials accountable if the law isn’t followed. 

These provisions are  all commonsense and the overwhelming majority of Americans are on board with them. 86 percent support verifying citizenship before registering to vote and 80 percent support removing non-citizens from voter rolls. 

Safeguarding our elections preserves the bedrock of our democracy—it protects the voice of the people and reinforces that our elections belong to “We the People of the United States.”