Forty-eight Senate Republicans signed onto legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register for federal elections. The bill stalled nine months in the Senate until President Trump suggested renaming it the “SAVE America Act” and adding photo ID requirements. Colorado legislators passed the Colorado Voting Rights Act in January 2025—before H.R. 22 even reached the House floor.
H.R. 22 passed the House 220-208 on April 10, 2025. All Colorado Republicans voted yes. All Colorado Democrats voted no.
Senator Mike Lee reintroduced the measure January 29, 2026, as the SAVE America Act at Trump’s suggestion. The updated version adds photo ID requirements for voting to the original proof-of-citizenship mandate for registration. Seventeen senators joined as co-sponsors in January alone.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’ll schedule a vote “at some point.” Representative Anna Paulina Luna threatened to block spending bills unless the SAVE Act gets attached. Nearly 30 Republican Study Committee members demanded immediate Senate action January 27-28.
Trump told House Republicans the bill must pass before 2026 midterms. The administration’s statement: “This bill would enforce a principle long enshrined in our laws: only citizens of the United States may vote to choose the leaders of the United States.”
Federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting. Current registration forms require applicants to check a box swearing they’re citizens under penalty of perjury. No documentary proof required.
Colorado implemented automatic voter registration in July 2020 through Senate Bill 19-235. The Department of Revenue transfers electronic records to the Secretary of State for anyone who applies for a driver’s license or ID and “provides documentation of citizenship.” County clerks review records and register voters.
The statute specifies: “Unless a person who knows they are ineligible to vote intentionally takes voluntary action to become registered, the transfer of the person’s record by a voter registration agency does not constitute completion of a voter registration form by that person.”
Under the Biden-Harris administration, at least 10 million illegal immigrants entered the country. Colorado and other states issue driver’s licenses to non-citizens.
The SAVE Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Acceptable documents: REAL ID indicating citizenship, U.S. passport, birth certificate, military ID with service record showing U.S. birthplace, or naturalization certificate.
States must establish programs using Department of Homeland Security databases, Social Security Administration verification, and state DMV citizenship records to identify non-citizens. States must remove non-citizens from voter rolls when verification shows ineligibility.
For applicants without documentation, states must create alternative processes: submit other evidence and sign attestation under penalty of perjury. Election officials who register applicants without proper documentation face up to five years prison.
The bill creates a private right of action allowing citizens to sue officials who register voters without required documentation.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold joined 14 other secretaries opposing the bill March 31, 2025. Her statement claimed it would “force all Americans to prove their citizenship status, in person, when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information.”
Colorado legislators responded by passing the Colorado Voting Rights Act before the federal bill reached a vote. The state joined 18 others challenging Trump’s executive order requiring citizenship verification. Governor Polis signed the legislation in January 2025.
Jefferson County published an analysis stating 146 million Americans lack valid passports and 69 million women lack birth certificates matching current names. Birth certificate replacement costs about $55 and takes a week. The county’s analysis calls the SAVE Act requirements “unnecessary barriers” and states they “would make it impossible for many Americans who do not have a passport, REAL ID, or access to their birth certificates to vote.”
The SAVE Act would eliminate online voter registration, mail-in registration, and automatic voter registration in Colorado. Every address change or name update would require in-person appearance with citizenship documents.
Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution gives Congress power to regulate “the Times, Places and Manner” of federal elections. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 already establishes federal requirements for state voter registration. The SAVE Act amends those requirements.
Colorado built legal defenses nine months before the federal bill passed the House. Forty-eight Senate Republicans now back the measure. Whether state law can block federal election requirements—and whether the Senate schedules a vote—determines if Colorado’s defensive legislation faces its test.
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