The SAVE America Act secured majority support in the U.S. Senate during a dramatic late-night vote Thursday.<\/p>\n
The vote is an important turning point for election integrity advocates despite falling short of the 60 votes required to overcome Senate procedural hurdles.<\/p>\n
During the Senate\u2019s marathon \u201cvote-a-rama\u201d session on June 4, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) forced a vote on the House-passed version of the SAVE America Act.<\/p>\n
The legislation would require proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration and strengthen voter identification requirements nationwide.<\/p>\n
The amendment passed by a vote of 50-49, giving the measure majority support in the chamber.<\/p>\n
However, because the proposal was offered as a waiver to budget rules within the reconciliation process, Senate rules required a three-fifths supermajority, or 60 votes, for adoption.<\/p>\n
Every Democrat voted against the amendment, preventing it from reaching the threshold needed for passage.<\/p>\n
The vote represented a notable improvement from an earlier election-integrity amendment offered by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), which failed 48-50 after four Republican senators joined Democrats in opposition.<\/p>\n
That earlier proposal included additional provisions beyond the House-passed SAVE Act.<\/p>\n
GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina all opposed it.<\/p>\n
When Lee later introduced the clean House version of the legislation, Collins switched her vote and joined the rest of the Republican conference in support of the measure.<\/p>\n
Murkowski, McConnell, and Tillis continued to oppose the amendment.<\/p>\n
The final 50-49 tally demonstrated that supporters of the SAVE Act can assemble a Senate majority behind the legislation, though not the supermajority required under current Senate rules.<\/p>\n
Vice President JD Vance, who serves as president of the Senate and can cast tie-breaking votes, was available if needed, meaning supporters effectively demonstrated they could secure 51 votes in favor of the proposal.<\/p>\n