GOP Pushes Citizenship-Verification Voting Bill, Raising Disenfranchisement Concerns

Republicans are fast-tracking the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register and a citizenship-based photo ID to vote, effectively forcing many voters to show passports or birth certificates at polling places. Analysts say up to about 21 million Americans could be disenfranchised, given that many lack passports or readily available birth certificates, and roll-cleaning could inadvertently purge eligible voters. The bill faces a difficult path in the Senate amid Democratic opposition and filibuster concerns, while a companion MEGA Act would roll back mail voting and other practices. President Trump and GOP leaders back the effort as a safeguard against noncitizen voting, but critics warn it would constitute a major voting-rights rollback.