Commentary: Big Tent Ideas

JENNY BETH MARTIN: It’s Time To Pass The SAVE America Act

[Wikimedia Commons/Public/LaurenShaull]

The SAVE America Act is one of those bills with a core principle so obvious that it should pass the House and Senate unanimously. Only American citizens should decide American elections – full stop. And if Washington is going to take election integrity seriously, it has to start where the vulnerability begins: at registration.

That’s exactly what the SAVE America Act does. It amends the National Voter Registration Act, enacted in 1993 under President Bill Clinton, to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship before would-be voters are allowed to register to vote.

Under current law, registering to vote in federal elections requires nothing more than an applicant checking a box and signing a form attesting that he or she is a U.S. citizen. No documentary proof is required. We take would-be voters’ word for it.

That’s just not good enough. Securing our elections is too important to rely on such a wafer-thin security regime.

Here’s the part the political class keeps pretending not to notice: the American people already support toughening identification requirements. We know, because we commissioned a poll to find out. In mid-July 2025, Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA) directed McLaughlin & Associates to survey likely general election voters.

The results were astounding.

Asked whether they agree that “Proof of United States citizenship should be required to register to vote in American elections,” voters didn’t just agree, they roared their agreement.

Overall, 83% agree, while just 13% disagree. Broken down by party, 92% of Republicans agree, while 5% disagree; 82% of Independents agree, while 11% disagree; and 73% of Democrats agree, while 22% disagree. Fully 94% of white voters agree, while 72% of Hispanic voters agree, and 63% of black voters agree.

That’s consensus, and it’s consensus that crosses all demographic lines.

So why, in 2026, do we still have politicians acting like it’s somehow radical to ask a would-be voter to prove he or she is a citizen? The same people who think nothing of showing a photo ID to board an airplane, pick up certain medications, enter a federal building, or cash a check suddenly get squeamish when it comes to protecting the ballot.

That makes no sense at all.

And that brings us to the second commonsense safeguard in the SAVE America Act: requiring a voter to produce a photo ID before voting.

Guess what? Americans support that, too, and overwhelmingly.

In that same TPPA poll, voters were asked whether they agree that “Voters should be required to provide identification when voting … to ensure that the person is who they claim to be.” The answer: yes. Overall, 79% agree, while 15% disagree. Among Republicans, the numbers are 89% agree, 6% disagree; among Independents, it’s 76% agree, 16% disagree; and among Democrats, it’s 70% agree, 26% disagree. Among white voters, 89% agree; among Hispanic voters, 69% agree; and among black voters, 62% agree.

You need not rely solely on data from the McLaughlin & Associates survey. If you’d prefer, you could look at data from a Pew Research Center poll from August 2025 that found similar results: in that survey, 83% of Americans favor requiring government-issued photo ID to vote – including 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats.

So if someone tells you the SAVE America Act is “extreme,” understand what they’re actually saying: they think it’s extreme to require citizenship for voting, and they think it’s extreme to confirm identity at the polls.

That’s not “extreme.” In fact, it’s perfectly reasonable.

This is simply about protecting the civil right that makes all the others possible: a legitimate vote cast by an eligible American. The left loves to talk about “democracy.” Fine. Then let’s make sure citizens – and only citizens – decide the outcomes of our elections.

The SAVE America Act is a clean line: if you’re eligible, you can vote, and if you’re not, you cannot. That principle shouldn’t frighten anyone who believes in self-government. It unites us, as the polling demonstrates clearly.

Congress should pass the SAVE America Act, by overwhelming margins in both houses. And every member who votes “no” should have to explain to his or her constituents why he or she opposes proving citizenship for registration – and why he or she opposes basic identification protections that the public supports by landslide margins.

Americans are ready for secure elections. Washington needs to catch up.

Jenny Beth Martin is Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action. 

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public/LaurenShaull)