Republican States Are Pushing Through Their Own Versions Of The Save America Act

As the Senate continues to stall on the SAVE America Act, Republicans in a number of states are moving forward with plans to add citizenship requirements to their voting laws.

Six states are likely to vote on new measures this fall that echo President Donald Trump’s top legislative priority. Republican lawmakers in Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia have put various citizenship-related amendments on the ballot.

In West Virginia, the most recent state to put a measure on the ballot, the amendment would change the state’s constitution from saying “citizens of the state shall be entitled to vote,” to “only citizens of the state who are citizens of the United States are entitled to vote.”

GOP Secretary of State Kris Warner said the change would prevent local officials from allowing noncitizens to vote in those races, but he conceded to WVNews that noncitizen voting is not a major issue in the state.

“It is an issue,” Warner said of noncitizens casting ballots in the state. “Would I tell you it’s a huge issue? I’m not going to say that.”

Arizona could be next, with a bill currently working its way through the state Legislature that would amend its constitution to allow only citizens to vote. Because ballot measures do not require the governor’s signature in Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is unable to veto the GOP-controlled Legislature.

In two battleground states with high profile Senate races — Alaska and Michigan — groups have submitted the required signatures to place citizenship questions on the ballot.

Throughout debate on the SAVE America Act, Republicans have slammed Democrats for opposing citizenship and voter ID requirements that polls show remain broadly popular with voters. And while the proposed changes will likely sail to victory in November in red states, the measures will test whether that argument is salient with voters on Election Day and not just in opinion surveys.

In some other Republican-led states like Florida, lawmakers are pushing new voting rules that do not have to go before voters. Florida’s law, as our Gary Fineout notes, would not take effect until after 2026. Utah and South Dakota have also approved SAVE Act copycats in their states that await approval from the state’s governors, according to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, which tracks changes to voting nationwide.

The Voting Rights Lab is tracking 35 measures across 18 states that are related to proof of citizenship and voting, though it remains unclear exactly how many have the support to pass.

The flurry of state action comes as the Senate is still stalled on the SAVE America Act, which has become a top issue for Trump, who is continuing to call for the chamber to kill the filibuster in order to pass it. On Tuesday, the House began floating ways to pass some components of the bill via reconciliation, a budget process that only requires a majority vote instead of the filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate.

The measures are also a continuation of 2024, where eight states approved measures at the ballot box related to citizenship requirements, according to Ballotpedia.

Voting rights groups lambast the changes, arguing they make voting harder, especially for young and minority voters as well as married women who have changed their last names, and create confusion for election officials who are already under intense scrutiny and leaving the job in droves.

And Democrats are hoping to use voter issues on the campaign trail in legislative races.

“As costs soar and families’ budgets are squeezed, Republicans are burying their heads in the sand and making voter suppression their top priority,” Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams said in a statement. “Republicans in state legislatures are wasting no time in passing copycat SAVE America Act legislation, making sure voter suppression moves forward even with Congress in gridlock.”

A version of this article first appeared in POLITICO Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.