The House just gave a controversial nod, so now, 21 million Americans could lose their rights

The House of Representatives passed a major new law called the Save America Act. The bill, which has strong support from President Donald Trump, barely passed with 218 votes in favor and 213 against. This new legislation would make big changes to how Americans vote. It would require people to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote and would cut back on mail-in voting options across the country.

The 2026 version of this bill was introduced by Chip Roy from Texas. It goes further than earlier versions by adding a requirement for photo ID that would apply to the whole country. The ID rules would be stricter than what many states use now, and student IDs would not be accepted as valid identification.

According to The Guardian, if this bill becomes law, all the new requirements would start right away. States would have to quickly change their voting systems to match the strict new federal rules. While asking for proof of citizenship or photo ID might seem fair at first, experts say it would be very hard to put into practice.

The bill creates serious obstacles for many American voters

Gideon Cohn-Postar, a senior advisor for election infrastructure, said people already promise they are citizens under penalty of perjury, which is a serious legal standard. He explained that requiring physical proof creates big logistical problems, especially for mail-in registration.

This isn’t just a technical issue. The Southern Poverty Law Center says about 21 million Americans don’t have documents like a birth certificate or passport. These people are often poor Americans and people of color, so the bill would affect these groups the most. The Trump administration has faced criticism for how it handles other domestic issues as well.

Rebekah Caruthers, president and CEO of Fair Elections Center, was direct about what the bill is meant to do. She said, “The whole point of this is to restrict who gets to vote in this country.” When you make it harder to get the required ID or documents, you’re keeping people out of the voting process.

The bill will likely fail in the Senate. Maine’s Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, who is running for governor as a Democrat, said she doubts the Senate will even vote on it. A similar bill from 2024 already went nowhere in the Senate. Caruthers explained that the bill sends a message to conservative state lawmakers.

She said some state legislators care more about what President Trump says than what’s best for their states. “This president is making all sorts of assertions with no data to back up his claims, no evidence to back up what he’s saying, and there are some lawmakers who are willing to introduce legislation, voting bills, in state legislatures across the country,” Caruthers said. 

Critics note that Trump’s approach to his administration’s policy priorities often lacks supporting evidence. The House bill shows state lawmakers what kind of voting restrictions they should pass locally. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas, was the only Democrat who voted for the bill alongside Republicans.