The SAVE Act requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Your driver's license or REAL ID won't count in 44 states. Anyone registering or updating their voter registration would need a passport or birth certificate.
1. To register to vote in a federal election, you would need a U.S. passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or certain military or tribal IDs that include your birthplace. 2. Standard driver's licenses and REAL IDs do not qualify in most states. Only Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Washington, and partially Ohio and Idaho issue IDs that show citizenship status. 3. If you're already registered and don't move, change your name, or switch parties, you're not affected. But anyone who registers for the first time or updates their registration would need to show proof. That's an estimated 80 to 100 million Americans every two years. 4. States would be required to remove noncitizens from voter rolls using federal databases. Noncitizens who register or vote in federal elections could face criminal penalties and deportation. 5. Nine states already have similar proof-of-citizenship laws: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Wyoming.