House passes GOP bill requiring proof of US citizenship for voting, a Trump priority

House Republicans passed one of their signature issues for the year on Thursday, 10 April, approving legislation to require proof of US citizenship when registering to vote for federal elections, one of President top election-related priorities.

lined up against the bill and warned that it risks disenfranchising millions of Americans who do not have ready access to the proper documents.

Trump has long signalled a desire to change how elections are run in the US and last month issued a sweeping executive order that included a citizenship requirement among other election-related changes.

Top Republicans have argued the legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, is necessary to ensure only citizens vote in US elections and “cements into law” Trump's order.

#BREAKING: H.R. 1526, the No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025 (NORRA), just PASSED the House.

This bill limits activist judges' power and ensures policy decisions stay with elected officials, not unelected judges.

Thank you, Chairman @repdarrellissa, for leading this effort to… pic.twitter.com/3ToCrXmhPz

— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) April 10, 2025

“If we have a noncitizen who votes in an election, that cancels out the vote of a legal citizen,” said U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House Committee on Administration, which handles election-related legislation.

This marks Republicans' second attempt at passing the SAVE Act. It passed the House last year but failed in the Senate amid Democratic opposition.

It's unlikely to fare any better this year. While Republicans won control of the Senate last fall, they have a narrow majority that falls short of the 60 votes they would need to overcome a filibuster.

Republicans hammered on the issue during last year's presidential election, even though voting by noncitizens is rare, already is illegal and can lead to felony charges and deportation.

The SAVE Act would require all applicants using the federal voter registration form to provide documentary proof of citizenship in person at their local election office. Among the acceptable documents are a valid US passport and a government-issued photo ID card presented alongside a certified birth certificate.