Sponsors (49)
Requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for Federal registration and photo ID for all Federal-election voters; creates SAVE verification exception.
Official title: Amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of United States citizenship to register an individual to vote in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 29, 2026 by Mike Lee · Last progress January 29, 2026
The bill trades stronger, more uniform citizenship and ID checks (and increased confidence in voter rolls) for stricter documentary requirements, higher administrative and privacy costs, and greater risk of creating barriers or erroneous disenfranchisement for low-income, disabled, elderly, and immigrant voters.
State and federal election systems: stricter citizenship and identity verification (including required verification for federal registrations and ID checks at the polls) reduces the risk of noncitizen registrations and in-person impersonation, strengthening confidence in federal voter rolls.
Previously verified registrants and election officials: mandatory data-sharing and quarterly SAVE use let states rely on prior verification, speeding resolution of eligibility questions and avoiding repeated document requests for people already confirmed as citizens.
Voters and election administrators: standardized federal ID rules and a uniform EAC affidavit create more uniform ID/registration requirements across jurisdictions and provide an alternate affidavit pathway for applicants without traditional documents (benefiting people with disabilities and some document-limited applicants).
Low-income people, seniors, many people with disabilities, immigrants, and naturalized citizens: new in-person document requirements, stricter photo-ID rules (including only physical IDs), and ID-copy requirements for absentee ballots will make registering and voting harder and increase the chance eligible voters are turned away or deterred.
Immigrants and some naturalized citizens: heavier documentary checks and expanded database lookups increase the risk of mismatches, delays, or erroneous removals from voter rolls that could disenfranchise eligible voters.
State and local election offices and taxpayers: new SAVE submission/annotation rules, mandatory data-sharing, and technical changes impose administrative and IT costs, raise privacy concerns around citizenship-data exchanges, and increase workload for election officials.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires photo ID and documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for anyone who registers or votes in Federal elections and changes how States must verify and maintain voter rolls. The bill adds a statutory definition of “documentary proof of United States citizenship,” requires States to accept specified documents (or certain sworn statements) for Federal voter registration, and obligates every voter to present an eligible photo ID at the polling place or when submitting absentee ballots, with limited exceptions tied to SAVE-system verification or jurisdictions without registration systems. Also removes prior list-maintenance text in current law and forces States to adopt new verification or annotation practices (including quarterly SAVE submissions for an exception). These requirements apply to all Federal elections on and after enactment and will create new administrative duties and potential compliance costs for State and local election officials, while changing access rules for many voters.