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What documents would you need to vote if SAVE Act passes?

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by Addy Bink - 04/04/26 11:00 AM ET

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by Addy Bink - 04/04/26 11:00 AM ET

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(NEXSTAR) – Congress is still working to pass legislation supported by President Trump that could impact the voting process.

The House has passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (or SAVE Act or SAVE America Act), and it has remained in the Senate ever since.

Senate Democrats defeated an amendment last week that would have required voters to show a photo ID when voting in person or by mail, a core piece of the SAVE Act that most states already adhere to.

The SAVE Act would additionally require Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote. Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens, but there’s no requirement to provide documentary proof.

Republicans, including President Trump, say the legislation is needed to prevent voter fraud, but Democrats warn it will disenfranchise millions of Americans by making it harder to vote.

Here’s a look at what document (or documents) you would need to provide to register to vote and cast a ballot, if the SAVE Act passes in its current form.

What would you need to register to vote?

Simply, you would need proof of citizenship. But it becomes a bit more complicated depending on what documents you have.

For some voters, a valid passport or a driver’s license could be enough. The latter, however, will only apply in a handful of states. Only five states — Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington — offer the type of enhanced REAL ID driver’s licenses or state IDs that explicitly indicate U.S. citizenship. Outside of those states, you would need another document to prove you were born in the U.S.

Any photo ID issued by a federal, state, or tribal government could be used to prove citizenship, as long as it shows where in the U.S. you were born. A U.S. military ID paired with a U.S. military record of service showing where in the U.S. you were born is also acceptable, according to the bill’s text.

Other acceptable photo IDs from a federal, state, or tribal government not mentioned above can be paired with a birth certificate, “an extract from a United States hospital Record of Birth” created when you were born, an adoption decree showing you were born in the U.S., a Consular Report if you were born abroad, a Report of Birth from the Secretary of State, a Naturalization Certificate, a Certificate of Citizenship, or an American Indian Card from the Department of Homeland Security with the “KIC” classifcation.

You would further require additional documentation if you’ve changed your name since birth. A provision added to the bill permits an affidavit attesting to the name change to be acceptable, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

What would you need to cast a ballot?

To vote, you would need a valid photo ID.

Thirty-eight states already require some form of ID at the polls, a Nexstar analysis found. In most cases, that’s a photo ID. If a voter arrives at the polls without an ID, they may still be able to cast a provisional ballot, depending on local legislation.

Only 12 states and the District of Columbia will, with few exceptions, let you vote at the polls without any documentation, under certain circumstances. Should the SAVE Act become law, voters in these states would be impacted, as well as those who vote by mail.

As The Hill previously reported, the SAVE Act lists valid state-issued driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, military IDs, and tribal IDs with a photo and expiration date as acceptable forms of identification.

If the SAVE America Act were enacted, the new rules for voter registration and voter identification at the polls would take effect immediately. Trump says it’s necessary for Republicans to win in the midterm elections — even though they won both chambers of Congress and the White House without the law in 2024.

Marc Elias, a Democratic elections attorney, said he isn’t ”aware of any state that currently requires what this would require.”

“If it’s passed tomorrow, the day after, states would need to implement this,” Elias said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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