Senate GOP vows long debate on voter registration, SAVE Act

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The Senate voted 51-48 along partisan lines Tuesday to take up the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act. The vote kicks off a marathon debate over the bill, said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The House of Representatives passed the bill in February, but the numbers in Tuesday’s vote leave the GOP short of the 60 votes needed for the Senate to send the bill to the White House. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted against taking up the bill, while Rep. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., did not vote. No Democrats voted in favor of the act.

The House passed previous versions of the SAVE Act in 2024 and 2025, but it has so far failed to pass the Senate.

The SAVE Act would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote, along with photo identification at the ballot box. Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, President Donald Trump called the bill the most important and consequential piece of legislation in the history of Congress. He also urged to amend the bill to include a ban on the majority of mail-in ballots, a ban on men competing in women’s sports, and a ban on transgender surgeries on minors.

Is there a way around the 60-vote threshold? Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said Republicans could force a “talking filibuster.” This would overhaul the usual 60-vote legislative threshold by requiring Democrats to hold the floor in order to block the bill. However, Thune said even a talking filibuster might not work, as he said no modern legislation has been passed using this method.

What have House Republicans done to push for the bill’s passage? Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told her colleagues to vote against any rule advancing Senate legislation that does not have the SAVE Act attached. Forty Republicans acted on that suggestion when they voted against a measure to extend the Small Business Innovation Research program for five years. House Freedom Caucus member Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said that he doesn’t care about the small business bill compared to the SAVE Act.

Dig deeper: Listen to Carolina Lumetta’s report on the SAVE Act showdown.

Liz Lykins

Liz is a reporter covering breaking news and First Amendment freedoms for WORLD. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish from Ball State University. She and her husband currently reside in Raleigh, N.C.