Pennsylvania’s Republican members of Congress are continuing to back the SAVE America Act, legislation they say would strengthen election security by requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, even as President Donald Trump has revived disputed claims about fraud in the 2020 election.
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick has emerged as one of the bill’s leading advocates in the Senate. While he has previously rejected Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and has not repeated the president’s recent allegations, McCormick has argued the legislation would improve public confidence in elections by verifying voter eligibility and strengthening maintenance of voter rolls.
Every Republican in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation supports the measure, which also would require photo identification at polling places and place additional restrictions on mail voting. Supporters contend the changes are needed to ensure that only U.S. citizens cast ballots and to prevent administrative errors involving voter registration.
Republicans have pointed to recent reports from New Jersey, where thousands of noncitizens were mistakenly registered before the 2024 election, as well as a Pennsylvania voter registration error discovered in 2017, as evidence that stronger safeguards are needed. McCormick and U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie have cited those incidents while promoting the legislation.
Democrats and voting rights advocates oppose the proposal, arguing it addresses a problem that is statistically rare while making voter registration more difficult for millions of eligible Americans who may not have immediate access to documents such as passports or birth certificates. Some election experts also question whether the bill would have prevented the administrative errors Republicans cite.
The legislation faces long odds in the Senate, where Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has said he supports voter identification requirements but opposes the bill because of its provisions affecting mail voting.
Source: Phila Inquirer