House Passes Bill to Require Proof of Citizenship for Voting in Federal Elections

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives on July 10 passed legislation that would require voters to provide proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. The bill was approved in a mostly party-line vote of 221–198. Five Democrats—Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Donald Davis (D-N.C.), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Vincente Gonzalez (D-Texas), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.)—joined all Republicans in voting for the legislation. Other Democrats opposed the bill, arguing that it’s redundant due to existing prohibitions on noncitizen voting. The measure is likely dead-on-arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate. The White House has expressed opposition to the bill. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act—introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) in May with the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and over 100 other Republicans—would require people to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in voter registration applications for federal elections. States would be barred from processing applications without it....