Trump presses Congress to require proof of citizenship to vote
Trump is pushing Congress to mandate proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, a change that could reshape elections for millions who lack easy access to documents.
President Donald Trump is pressing Congress to require proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections and photo identification to cast a ballot, reviving a fight over a bill that the House passed 218-213 on February 11, 2026. The measure, called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and force states to reject registration applications that do not include documentary proof of citizenship.
The House-passed version, filed as H.R. 7296, also would require states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls and create an alternative process for people whose legal name does not match their citizenship documents. Acceptable paperwork could include a REAL ID-compliant identification that shows citizenship. A prior version of the bill, H.R. 22, was introduced on January 3, 2025, by Rep. Chip Roy, and Congress had already approved a substantively identical House version in the 118th Congress on July 10, 2024, as H.R. 8281, before it stalled.
Registration forms for federal elections would no longer be enough on their own, and election administrators would have to check citizenship paperwork before adding a voter to the rolls. Poll workers would also face a new photo-ID requirement at the ballot box for federal races, adding another verification step in states that do not now require one.
A Brennan Center for Justice survey found that 21.3 million voting-age citizens, about 9 percent, say they do not have or cannot quickly access documents proving citizenship. The NAACP says 11 percent of voters of color cannot readily access those documents. Married women and others who have changed their names would still be allowed to register, but they would need extra documentation or an affidavit to reconcile the mismatch.
Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and noncitizen voting remains extremely rare. The Senate began extended debate on the Trump-backed bill on March 17, 2026, but Republicans held only 53 seats and still needed 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
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