Earlier this year, Congress had two serious election integrity options on the table. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, now branded the SAVE America Act, requires proof of citizenship to register and a photo ID to vote. There was also the more comprehensive Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act. The MEGA Act is the full package: everything in the SAVE Act plus stronger voter list maintenance, mail-in ballot deadlines tied to poll closing, mandatory auditable paper ballots, and bans on ballot harvesting, ranked-choice voting, and universal mail-in voting.
The MEGA Act was the dream. But the SAVE Act had a better chance of becoming a reality. A February Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll found 71% overall support for the SAVE America Act — including 50% of Democrats, 91% of Republicans, and 69% of independents.
Half of Democrats support this bill. 85% of voters agree that only U.S. citizens should vote in U.S. elections, with majorities across party lines. Voter ID? 81% support. Removing non-citizens from voter rolls? 80% want it done. Requiring proof of citizenship to vote? 75% back it.
That’s what a national consensus looks like.
There's a reason the SAVE Act was always the smarter legislative play over the MEGA Act. It's laser-focused, bipartisan in its polling, and already cleared the House 218-213. The Senate is the harder road, but the numbers gave Republicans something real to work with heading in.
Specifically, he wants the elimination of no-excuse absentee ballots included in the bill. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) is prepared to offer those changes as an amendment. And while I understand and agree with the instinct — vote-by-mail is genuinely ripe for abuse when it becomes the default rather than the exception — this push threatens to blow up the entire bill.
Related: Trump Drops Bombshell Ultimatum on GOP Over the SAVE America Act
Here's the problem. Republicans in states where mail-in voting is deeply embedded in the electoral culture are drawing a line. One Republican senator said, “I think it's problematic because in some of these states, 60 or 70 percent of people vote by mail." Like it or not, in states like Utah, Arizona, and Colorado, vote-by-mail isn't controversial — it's just how millions of people cast their ballots, including Republican voters. Asking those senators to gut a system their constituents rely on, right before a midterm election, is a heavy lift that could fracture GOP unity at the worst possible moment.
I have always hated vote-by-mail as a casual default. The potential for fraud is real. But governing requires prioritizing. The SAVE Act can be the first step. Pass that. Lock it in. We can fight the mail-in battle afterward, with a coalition that's actually built for it. There's no shame in that. Sometimes you gotta play the long game, and right now, we have the majority and a popular bill. Let's make it happen. Get it passed.
