SAVE Act via Senate Substitute

What this does

The House took a Senate bill titled to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, struck every word after the enacting clause, and replaced it with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. What passed has nothing to do with veterans. It rewrites federal voter registration law. The bill bars a state from accepting a voter registration application for a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of United States citizenship. Documentary proof means a REAL ID that indicates citizenship, a United States passport, a military identification card paired with a service record showing a United States birthplace, a government photo ID showing a United States birthplace, or another government photo ID presented together with a supporting document such as a certified birth certificate, a naturalization or citizenship certificate, or a consular report of birth abroad. Applicants who register by mail must present that proof in person to an election official by the state's registration deadline. States must also set up a process letting an applicant who cannot produce documentary proof sign an attestation under penalty of perjury and submit other evidence of citizenship for an official to weigh. States must run their voter lists against the Department of Homeland Security's SAVE system to find and remove noncitizens, after notice and a chance to provide proof. The Secretary of Homeland Security must investigate whether to begin removal proceedings against any noncitizen found unlawfully registered. Absent uniformed services voters are exempt. The bill adds two new federal election crimes to the National Voter Registration Act. One reaches an election official who registers an applicant without documentary proof of citizenship. The other reaches an executive branch officer or employee who gives material assistance to a noncitizen attempting to register or vote. It also opens officials to private lawsuits for registering an applicant who did not present proof. A second half requires photo identification to cast a ballot. In-person voters must present a valid physical photo ID or cast a provisional ballot that counts only if they produce the ID within three days, or sign an affidavit of a religious objection to being photographed. Voters casting a ballot other than in person must include a copy of a photo ID, or the last four digits of their Social Security number with an affidavit that they could not obtain one. Valid IDs are a state driver's license, a state identification card, a United States passport, a military ID, or a tribal identification card.