SAVE America Act ad cites voter ID poll from before bill and misleads on international policies

An ad airing nationwide encourages people to call their senators and tell them to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require photo ID to vote. The ad says the majority of people support that requirement.

"As Americans we are fair and logical. 83% of us favor requiring a photo ID to vote. In fact, most of the civilized world requires it but not us," says the ad by Restoration of America, the umbrella name of several conservative advocacy organizations. "We need to be able to trust that only eligible Americans are casting ballots. Democrats oppose voter ID for no coherent reason. Republicans favor it but haven't acted." 

The 83% statistic comes from a well-respected pollster. It asked Americans about voter ID, but not about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. The poll was conducted in 2025, before the bill was introduced. More recent polling specific to the SAVE America Act shows Americans are more torn about its provisions.

Most states already require some form of ID to vote

States set their own voter ID laws. President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are seeking a nationwide rule.

Thirty-six states request or require voters to show ID at the polls — 10 of them require photo ID, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In many states, at least some voters without a photo ID have options to cast a ballot, although it may include extra steps.

Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., don’t require identification, but they use other methods to verify voters' identities, such as matching signatures. Federal law requires first-time voters to show ID when requesting mail ballots, and some states have additional ID rules for voters mailing in ballots.

The SAVE America Act would require Americans to provide government-issued photo IDs to vote and documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to register. Under the bill, election officials could accept a REAL ID driver's license that includes citizenship, though most states don't offer such a license. It also requires voters to submit a copy of their photo IDs when using mail ballots, or use workarounds that are cumbersome.

The House approved the legislation in February, but it stalled in the Senate, lacking the 60 votes needed to pass under the chamber’s rules.

The legislation follows Trump and his allies’ repeated falsehoods that noncitizen voting is widespread. It rarely happens. Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in congressional and presidential elections.

Limited polling on the SAVE America Act 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to reporters on the SAVE America Act alongside Republican leadership and supporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2026. (AP)

Restoration of America did not answer our questions about the ad. But articles on its website also cited the 83% figure and linked to news about the nonpartisan Pew Research Center’s August 2025 survey. That poll found that 83% of responding adults supported requiring voters to show government-issued photo ID to vote, including 71% of Democrats and 95% of Republicans. That survey was conducted months before Republicans proposed the SAVE America Act in January.

Surveys have consistently shown majority support for photo voter ID. But the polls typically present voter ID as a yes or no question, feeding the perception that views align with two distinct camps: those who support voter ID laws and those who oppose them. Supporters of stricter voter ID laws say they want to thwart fraud. Critics say tighter rules could disenfranchise eligible voters, including those who are less likely to have current government issued photo IDs, such as Black or young voters.

Voting law experts say polls oversimplify the debate, leaving out nuances about the varying voter ID requirements, existing verification processes and the low risk of voter fraud. 

For example, in Texas, handgun permits are considered valid voter IDs, but student IDs are not. Critics say this makes it easy for gun owners, a heavily Republican group, to vote but harder for students, a predominantly Democratic group. 

There has been limited polling specifically about the SAVE America Act.

CBS News found in March that 31% opposed the legislation, 28% supported it and the largest group — 41% — was unsure. 

A February Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 58% supported Trump asking Congress "to pass the SAVE America Act, mandating photo ID and proof of citizenship for all voters, sharply limiting mail-in ballots, and ending sanctuary protections for criminal illegal immigrants." Another question about the legislation found 71% of respondents supported photo ID when including other elements such as asking about removing noncitizens from voter rolls.

Those questions pack a lot of issues into one sentence without noting that the majority of states already require ID and noncitizens are banned from voting in federal elections.

Many countries provide national IDs that can be presented to vote

An electoral official checks a voter's ID during the country's first judicial elections in Mexico City, June 1, 2025. (AP)

The Restoration of America ad says "most of the civilized world" requires photo ID to vote, "but not us. 

Many countries issue national ID cards and make it mandatory for everyone above a certain age to have one. They can present those photo IDs to vote.

Therese Pearce Laanela, an expert on electoral processes at International IDEA, a Sweden-based pro-democracy organization, said having a photo ID is common in most countries conducting democratic elections, and "requiring ID for voting is neither controversial nor exclusionary."  

Democracies requiring photo ID apply that rule strictly, said Vincent Pons, a Harvard business professor who has studied voter participation in France, Italy and Africa. "However, in most of these countries, all citizens have a national ID, unlike in the U.S."

Some countries use biometric markers such as fingerprints and retina scans to identify voters. 

Our ruling

An ad promoting the SAVE America Act said, "83% of us favor requiring a photo ID to vote. In fact, most of the civilized world requires it but not us."

A Pew survey found 83% support for photo voter ID. The survey was conducted months before lawmakers proposed the SAVE America Act legislation. More recent polling specific to the SAVE Act shows Americans are more torn over their support of its provisions.

Many countries require photo ID to vote, but in those countries, all citizens have a national ID. The U.S. doesn’t have a national ID. The ad omits that 10 U.S. states require photo ID to vote.

The statement is partially true but leaves out important details. We rate it Half True.

PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this fact-check.

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