Senator Mike Lee of Utah has no intention of letting Congress run out the clock. With the 2026 midterms approaching, Lee is making a full-court press for the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require voter ID for federal elections, proof of citizenship to register, and the removal of noncitizens from voter rolls. His argument is blunt: these are basic safeguards that Americans already expect in every other area of life where identity matters. The only people who seem to have a problem with any of it are the people on Capitol Hill. Sen. Mike Lee is HELLBENT on getting the SAVE America Act passed before the midterms "A SUPERMAJORITY of Republican voters and Democrat voters nationwide want this passed!" "The only place where this is even REMOTELY controversial is in the halls of congress!" ENFORCE THE… pic.twitter.com/DFvnGfuj3c — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 9, 2026 Lee says a supermajority of Republican and Democrat voters want these protections. The public is ready. Congress is the bottleneck, and Lee wants every member on the record before the midterms force the question anyway. You have to prove who you are whenever it really matters It matters when you vote Pass the SAVE America Act pic.twitter.com/bRdln1vERU — Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) May 9, 2026 The legislation has been through an earlier version, and this round carries significantly more teeth. According to Senator Mike Lee’s official Senate release: Lee and Congressman Chip Roy of Texas introduced the SAVE America Act on January 30, 2026. The release describes the bill as an expanded version of their earlier SAVE Act, which centered on proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration. The new version adds a federal voter ID requirement, which Lee and Roy say reflects President Trump’s position that voter ID should be part of any serious election-security effort. The release lays out three core provisions: requiring eligible photo identification before casting a ballot in a federal election, requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship in person when registering someone to vote, and requiring states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. The release also argues that Biden-Harris border policies brought millions of illegal aliens into the country, and that some states issue driver’s licenses or government benefits to illegal aliens. Those systems, the release contends, create pathways for improper registration in federal elections even though only United States citizens may legally vote in federal elections. The actual bill text spells out how those provisions would work in practice. According to Congress.gov: The SAVE America Act would amend the National Voter Registration Act. States would be required to inform residents that documentary proof of U.S. citizenship is needed to register for federal elections. For anyone applying to register by mail, registration would not go through for federal elections unless the applicant presents documentary proof of citizenship in person at the appropriate election office by the state’s deadline, or at the polling place in states that allow same-day or voting-period registration. Officials would be required to send notice and instructions to otherwise complete applicants, and states would have to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled applicants. The bill also creates a process for people who cannot initially produce documentation: they may sign an attestation under penalty of perjury and submit alternative evidence, and there is a separate process for resolving documentation discrepancies. States would be allowed to request citizenship information from federal agencies and use the DHS SAVE verification system, and agencies would be barred from charging states a fee for responding to those requests. Once documented or verified information shows a registrant is not a citizen, states would be required to remove that person from federal voter rolls. The bill also includes penalties for officials who register applicants who fail to present proof of citizenship. Lee has been clear about why the fight is urgent. He points to a growing body of evidence that illegal voting occurs and argues that Democrats who deny the problem keep getting contradicted by the facts. SEN. LEE on why he's still fighting for the SAVE America Act "Increasingly, Democrats deny that election fraud happens and yet, that thing they say never happens, it has a way of happening—A LOT, and we keep uncovering more and more evidence that it's occurring!" "Already… pic.twitter.com/YGuUmaREGM — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 9, 2026 None of these requirements are radical. You need an ID to board a plane, buy cold medicine, or open a bank account. Asking voters to prove they are citizens before they help decide who runs the country should be the easiest vote in Congress. Lee is right to keep hammering this, and the resistance from certain members tells you everything you need to know about their priorities.