Senate Republicans advance SAVE America Act to require proof of citizenship for voters
Republicans in the Senate are working to advance the American Rescue Act, which mandates that individuals provide proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. However, gaining the necessary support has been challenging, as Democrats oppose the measure, and they are having difficulty reaching the required 60 votes. Meanwhile, FOX News correspondent Chad Pergrim will report live from the Capitol, discussing the ongoing debate, with Kayleigh McEnany emphasizing the widespread public backing for the bill. A critical vote regarding funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is also on the horizon.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to withhold billions in preparedness grants from states that refuse to adopt new election security protocols—these include measures like checking voter citizenship, conducting post-election audits, and increasing the use of paper ballots.
This initiative follows President Donald Trump’s and many other Republicans’ criticisms of states hesitant to audit their voter rolls through federal oversight. On the other hand, states like California face scrutiny for the slow pace of counting votes.
FEMA, which operates under DHS, allocates over $1 billion in taxpayer funds to states willing to participate, but states must meet specific criteria to qualify. They need to present a plan to move away from “insecure electronic voting systems” that use QR codes or barcodes and transition towards hand-marked paper ballots, which are easier to verify in case of disputes.
States aiming for these grants are required to manually audit a minimum of 5% of all ballots after each federal election and ensure that there’s a match between the number of voters and votes cast. Furthermore, they must verify the citizenship of all voters on their rolls within 120 days of receiving grant funding using the SAVE database, which has faced criticism from some Democratic governors regarding its maintenance—a claim DHS disputes.
Officials from DHS noted that threats to election systems are evolving and that Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin has prioritized protecting this critical infrastructure. A spokesperson shared that under Trump’s leadership, decisive actions are being taken to safeguard against threats like foreign interference and cyberattacks. The hope is that these new grant requirements will help maintain election integrity and bolster public confidence in election results.
The new rules emerged after the Trump administration faced significant legal hurdles when trying to enforce election security measures. Recently, a federal judge in Pittsburgh, appointed during the Obama administration, ruled against the Justice Department’s attempt to obtain voter records from over 25 states, including personal information.
The judge determined that the federal government lacked authority to request this sensitive national information after objections arose from Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State, a Republican appointed by a Democratic governor.
It remains uncertain how DHS’s new strategy will be received or if it will lead to legal challenges similar to those encountered previously.
