Sponsors (71)
The bill aims to strengthen uniform ID rules, centralized registries, paper ballots, and auditability to improve election integrity and consistency, but does so at the cost of added costs, expanded data‑sharing and privacy risks, increased federal oversight, and heightened risk of disenfranchising marginalized voters who lack required documentation or face mail/administrative barriers.
Voters and election administrators get voter‑verifiable paper ballots preserved as an auditable record, improving the integrity of recounts and post‑election verification.
State and local election officials get a single, centralized computerized registry with unique IDs and coordination with death/felony records, improving speed, consistency, and accuracy of voter list management and enabling public scrutiny of list‑maintenance.
Standardized identity and registration procedures (including a federal photo‑ID standard, mailed ID/affidavit rules, and provisional ballots with a short cure period) create more uniform in‑person checks and give some voters a brief opportunity to fix ID problems so their votes count.
Eligible voters who lack qualifying photo ID — including low‑income people, seniors, rural residents, students, and others — may be turned away or face extra hurdles, increasing risk of disenfranchisement.
Requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for registration and for some mail registrations may delay or block eligible naturalized citizens and other eligible voters who lack or cannot quickly provide documents.
Removing registrants who haven't responded and haven't voted in two consecutive federal general elections risks purging eligible voters and causing wrongful disenfranchisement.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Imposes a federal photo‑ID requirement, mandates voter‑verifiable paper ballots, centralizes voter registration lists, expands record retention, and authorizes HAVA‑funded audits beginning FY2026.
Official title: To promote the integrity and improve the administration of elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 30, 2026 by Bryan Steil · Last progress January 30, 2026
Creates a federal photo‑ID requirement for voting in federal elections, requires voter‑verifiable paper ballots, mandates centralized computerized statewide voter registration lists, expands public retention of voter‑list maintenance records, and authorizes HAVA funds to pay for post‑election audits. It also adds new criminal prohibitions related to mail ballots and sets timelines and technical requirements for preserving ballots and auditability. Some provisions take effect soon after enactment and others apply to HAVA payments beginning in fiscal year 2026.