WASHINGTON – The U.S. House on Thursday passed a bill by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, to require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

Related:A Texas Republican’s SAVE Act is drawing alarm. What is it?

President Donald Trump, along with many Republicans nationally and in Texas, have prioritized measures aimed at preventing noncitizen voting.

Proponents say such steps are necessary to preserve election integrity, while critics say voter fraud is rare in the United States and overreaching election-related proposals would effectively disenfranchise millions of citizens.

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The House voted 220-208 to approve the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act.

No Republicans voted against it. Four Democrats voted for it, including Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, who supports the legislation, did not vote.

Roy pushed back on suggestions the rarity of voter fraud makes the proposal unnecessary. Undocumented people receive driver’s licenses all the time, he said, and many of them are placed on the voter rolls.

“The American people have spoken very clearly that they believe only American citizens should vote in American elections,” Roy said. “There’s nothing controversial about that.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)(Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

The bill would require states to purge noncitizens from voting rolls.

The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where it stalled last year after passing the House amid Democratic opposition.

Trump has sought to implement similar requirements through executive action. He signed an executive order last month aimed at overhauling the country’s elections, which included a requirement for documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.

Democratic officials in 19 states filed a lawsuit last week challenging the order as an unconstitutional infringement of states’ authority to run their elections.

Related:Texas voters would have to prove citizenship under a state bill

State lawmakers in Texas also are considering election-related bills, including new requirements for voters to prove citizenship.

The Texas Senate has approved a bill from Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization certificate.

State and federal law only allow citizens to vote.

During Thursday’s congressional debate on the SAVE Act, Democrats said noncitizens who vote face potential felony charges and deportation under current law.

They said the legislation would leave American citizens drowning in a morass of bureaucratic paperwork when registering to vote.

An estimated 21.3 million American citizens of voting age do not have ready access to proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.

Requirements that documents be presented in person, Democrats said, essentially eliminate online registration.

Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, said she appreciates efforts to ensure only U.S. citizens can vote, but the bill would require Americans who punch a clock from 8 to 5 every day to take off work in order to visit a voter registration office in person.

She said she offered an amendment, rejected by Republicans, that would have allowed for online voter registration, which would have accommodated military personnel serving overseas, individuals with disabilities and seniors.

“Why are we keeping these barriers for eligible citizens when the world is evolving around us,” Johnson said. “We live in modern times.”

Roy’s bill has been criticized by voting and civil rights groups that suggest millions of Americans could be shut out from voting, including women who changed their last name when they got married.

Roy previously dismissed those concerns as “absurd armchair speculation.”

Republicans on Thursday highlighted a provision in the legislation that calls for states to develop processes to account for discrepancies between someone’s identification and birth certificate.