Three separate bills have been introduced thus far: the SAVE Act, the SAVE America Act and the MEGA Act. The House of Representatives advanced the SAVE Act in April 2025 and voted again on the SAVE America Act in February 2026. The Senate has not yet acted on any of these bills.
Despite their different names, all three of these proposals would essentially do the same thing: impose extreme and unnecessary documentation requirements on the voting process and thereby silence millions of Americans by making it harder to participate in our elections.
To protect the freedom to vote, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is fighting to defeat all versions of this dangerous legislation.
What is the SAVE Act?
First introduced in the House in July 2024, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require every American to provide burdensome documentation to register to vote in federal elections or change their voter registration, even though strict laws and safeguards already exist to ensure voters verify their eligibility.
But the documents applicants could use to prove their citizenship under the SAVE Act can be extremely difficult to obtain, making it much harder for eligible Americans to register and vote. More than 21 million Americans don’t have access to the kind of documents this bill demands, which means nearly 10% of all voting-age Americans would face significant new barriers to the ballot.
Additionally, the SAVE Act would effectively get rid of mail voter registration and force online registration systems to be overhauled to fit the bill’s requirements. Millions of Americans who rely on these options to make their voices heard would be severely impacted.
The SAVE Act would also mandate that states conduct frequent voter purges based on faulty data, a practice that will inevitably and incorrectly remove eligible voters from the rolls and take away Americans’ freedom to vote.
Election workers would be threatened by the SAVE Act too. They could go to prison for up to five years if they help to register somebody without the correct documents, even if the registered voter is a citizen. Bad actors could also be empowered to harass election workers with costly private litigation.
The House passed the SAVE Act in April 2025, but it never made it to the Senate for a vote.
What is the SAVE America Act?
The SAVE America Act was introduced in the House in January 2026. It has many of the same dangers as the original SAVE Act — and then some.
In addition to requiring burdensome documentation to register to vote, the SAVE America Act would implement an extreme documentation requirement at polling places and for mail voters that is more onerous than almost every single state voter ID law currently in effect.
Moreover, under the SAVE America Act, every single state would be forced to submit its voter registration list to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comparison to the agency's error-ridden database. This is a plain attempt to bully states into sharing voters’ sensitive personal information with the federal government that federal officials might be unable to otherwise access.
Alarmingly, the SAVE America Act includes no restrictions on what the federal government can do with the sensitive data once DHS receives it and no safeguards against using the data to force voter purges or unduly question election results.
The SAVE America Act passed the House in February 2026 and has not yet been taken up for a vote in the Senate.
What is the MEGA Act?
The Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act was introduced in the House in January 2026 but has not been taken up for a vote in either chamber. It includes the provisions in the original SAVE Act, plus a more extreme ban on mail voting and a ban on ranked choice voting.
The MEGA Act would eliminate universal mail voting systems by requiring voters to actively request a mail ballot in every election where they wish to vote by mail. It would also prohibit people from helping community members return their mail ballot — a form of assistance voters of color, low-income voters and Native American voters living on reservations rely on disproportionately.
The MEGA Act would also bar states from using ranked choice voting for federal elections. Ranked choice voting is an overwhelmingly popular electoral reform that allows voters to rank their preferred candidates from first to last, rather than simply voting for a single candidate. Even in races with more than two candidates, a candidate can only win when they’re preferred by a majority of the electorate, making ranked choice voting a more democratic system than traditional plurality systems.
Ranked choice voting also encourages civility, while discouraging negative campaigning, because it still benefits candidates to try for second or third place, even if they aren’t a voter’s first choice. Numerous states successfully use ranked choice voting in state and federal elections.
How do Americans register to vote?
There are already strict laws in place that ensure only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections.
When registering to vote, you must swear to your eligibility, including your U.S. citizenship. At the very minimum, every voter registration applicant must provide information that establishes their identity and confirms that they are who they say they are.
More information about state-by-state requirements can be found on Vote.org.
What’s important to remember is we have strict laws to ensure that only American citizens vote in federal elections. Lying about your citizenship when registering to vote can lead to major consequences like financial penalties, jail time and even deportation.