House passes Trump-supported voter ID law, Senate passage unlikely

U.S. House Republicans recently passed the SAVE America Act, which would require people to present a government-issued photo ID when voting in person and submit a copy of that ID when returning a mail ballot.

President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would "demand voter ID," but the bill is unlikely to draw enough support in the Senate to become law.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican majority leader, said he supports the bill, but he doesn't have the required 60 votes to proceed to a final vote and hasn't said he'd support overturning that vote requirement to break a filibuster. 

Trump has pressured the Senate, saying Feb. 11 that if voter ID legislation doesn't land on his desk soon he will sign an executive order compelling such a requirement. Any order would face court challenges because the Constitution specifies that states administer elections.

Thirty-six states already request or require voters to show some form of ID at the polls. The remaining 14 states and Washington, D.C., require no identification, but they use other methods to verify voters' identities, such as matching signatures or asking for personal information. Federal law requires first-time voters to show ID when requesting mail ballots, while some states have additional ID requirements for voters mailing in ballots.

Trump's push to institute a national voter ID policy is built on the falsehood that Democrats stole the 2020 election. Officials in Trump's own administration said the election was secure. Voter impersonation at the polls is rare. 

We will revisit this promise if it reaches a Senate vote or Trump issues an executive order, but for now we rate it Stalled.

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