House passes SAVE Act, Republican election reform that would require voters to show identification

The House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act and sent the bill to the Senate. It is an election reform that would require people registering to vote in federal elections to present proof of citizenship and a photo ID. Republicans have defended the legislation as a step toward "common sense."

The vote ended with 218 votes in favor and 213 against. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was the lone Democrat to vote in favor.

Specifically, the bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) toallow states to require proof of citizenship when registering a voter in federal elections.

The legislation, pushed by Chip Roy (R-TX) in the House and Mike Lee (R-UT) in the Senate, also has the support of President Donald Trump. To pass it in the upper chamber, the GOP will need at least 60 votes. Some Republicans are pushing Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to authorize a vote to eliminate this rule, known as a Filibuster (in English).

"All that we've done tonight in this simple piece of legislation is to apply common sense. (...) The SAVE Act says that you have to have proof of citizenship before you register to vote in federal elections. The law already provides for that, but we need to ensure that it's enforced. And the second part of it, what we added tonight and what is part of the SAVE Act, is the second piece, the very common-sense requirement that you have a photo ID if you're going to vote. (...) Everyone in the country understands the necessity of that and understands how simple it is and how important it is. And the only people that oppose it are people who want to cheat our system," Johnson said in a press conference after the vote.

"Will Senate Democrats continue to cater to their extreme left-wing base, or are they going to finally join the overwhelming majority of Americans on this common-sense reform? But I'll tell you this, once again, Republicans have demonstrated that we are the party of common sense. We are the party that's delivering exactly what the American people sent us here to do, and we will continue that," he added.