Ensuring America has secure elections might be the largest and most consequential fight for conservatives ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections. Requiring identification and proof of citizenship to vote is an 80-20 issue for Americans, and conservatives are fighting to deliver it.
The SAVE Act, which would establish a requirement for voter ID and proof of citizenship for voter registration, has passed the U.S. House multiple times, but the Senate has repeatedly failed to pass any version of it. Instead of waiting around for the Senate to act, state officials are taking it into their own hands.
Multiple states have already passed their own versions of the SAVE Act. A charge led by the State Freedom Caucus Network, a group of state elected conservatives, is advancing legislation in Arizona, South Dakota, and Wyoming, with more to come.
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told the Daily Signal at the network’s annual summit that this is “absolutely” a solution to the Senate refusing to act. Self was a keynote speaker at the summit in Dallas, Texas.
Self told the Daily Signal his bottom-line message to the State Freedom Caucus members is that “the states have to take action.” He continued by saying, “It is so difficult, at the federal level, to get laws through, to get changes made. But the states are more flexible. I think the states are where we’ve got to encourage them to actually take action, [and] pass laws.”
“Everybody tells us at the federal level, ‘Wait a minute, states run elections.’ So, they’re standing on that principle, so states run hard through that gate. Do what you can to secure your own elections, because that’s the way the Constitution is written. So, use every tool you have,” he concluded, referring to states passing their own measures.
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The president of the SFCN, Andrew Roth, also told the Daily Signal that SAVE laws are needed everywhere but highlighted some of the challenges he has seen state freedom caucus members have.
“The frustrating part is that you’ve got different dynamics in each state. And so even though our members will introduce and file SAVE Act bills, the Swamp still controls the agenda,” he said, referencing the control the establishment has in their represented state capitols.
“There’s two obstacles. One is, it only applies to state races. But there’s only one ballot … and two is the biggest problem, the biggest reason why we need the SAVE Act is because it’s needed in blue states,” he said.
Right now, SAVE Act laws are only getting passed in red states, where there is State Freedom Caucus support. In Arizona, Wyoming, and South Dakota, the legislation has been led and championed by SFCN members.
Roth said he loves the irony of SAVE laws getting passed in Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s home state of South Dakota.
A South Dakota state candidate told the Daily Signal at the summit that voters and state officials are still fired up about the senator failing to prioritize the election integrity law in Washington. He told the Daily Signal he doubts Thune will be elected to serve another term in the U.S. Senate; at the very least, he will not have the backing of the full state legislature. Thune’s term isn’t up until 2029, so the senator has a few years to continue action on the legislation.
But for now, South Dakota, Wyoming, Florida, Mississippi, Utah, Kansas, and Ohio, all red states, have passed SAVE laws. Arizona voters will vote on their constitutional amendment regarding SAVE laws on their ballot this November. These laws apply to state elections and do not affect federal voter registration or federal election eligibility. They involve proof of citizenship, citizenship verification, or the use of federal databases in voter registration or voter roll maintenance.
But without federal legislation, SAVE laws will likely never be passed in blue states.
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