Republicans have a lot to worry about in the upcoming 2026 election. Historically, the party that controls the White House takes an electoral pasting in the mid-terms. Given the current razor-thin majority that allows the Republicans to control the House, a November vote consistent with the historic record of most mid-term elections could flip it back to Democratic control. 

A House controlled by Democrats would be a big headache for the President on multiple fronts. 

Given the President’s weak and worsening polling numbers, last year he concocted a scheme to boost Republicans’ electoral chances with a call for red states to approve mid-decade changes to Congressional lines to boost Republican chances of victory.

That effort has largely fizzled since Democrats responded with their own redistricting campaigns to boost their chances in blue states. The outcome has been largely seen as a wash.

Last week, the House Republican leadership advanced a new effort to impact the 2026 election. The House approved, with the President’s support, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act which, if it were to become law, would require proof of citizenship for people to register to vote at a state level for federal elections and mandates that voters show a form of photo ID when voting on election day or when requesting a mail-in ballot.

While most Americans think that’s a good idea in the abstract, the actual details and likely impacts of the legislation have not been adequately aired or debated. For example, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center:

“Although at least one of these documents are in theory available to most citizens, not all voters have them readily available.”

• Nearly one in ten eligible voters do not have, or do not have easy access to, documentary proof of citizenship.
• More than half of registered voters do not have an unexpired passport with their current legal name.
• And over 10 percent of registered voters do not have access to their birth certificate.

In addition, as the Bipartisan Policy Center further noted, “birth certificates often lack information that matches a person’s current identity. For instance, someone who has changed their name through marriage or court order may need to present a third document (such as a marriage certificate) to join their proof of citizenship…Even if voters were to provide documentary proof of citizenship, verifying the authenticity of those documents is an inherently complex task, one that election officials and motor vehicle departments often do not have the resources or training to perform.”

These concerns are echoed by other nonpartisan groups, from the Brennan Center for Justice, which argued that the House bill would “Block Millions of Americans From Voting,” to the League of Women Voters, which noted “It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. [The SAVE America Act] simply creates another barrier to voting.”

The “problem” that the SAVE America Act is supposed to “solve” is the false claim that there is widespread voter fraud in the nation. Report after report have shown that it is simply not true that there is a significant problem with fraudulent voting and that it alters the results of elections. In fact, leading experts have argued that the nation’s elections are secure. Requiring voters to jump through verification “hoops” does nothing more than deter citizens from voting during a time when increased voter turnout should be encouraged. 

Given the filibuster rule of the U.S. Senate, it is doubtful that the SAVE America Act will be taken up. But one never knows for sure.

The House’s approval comes close on the heels of the President’s discredited call for the Congress to “nationalize” voting, his plan to issue an executive order on voting identification, and an “unusual” meeting called by the FBI to meet with state elections officials right after its raid to seize 2020 election data stored in the state of Georgia.

Add the redistricting effort to the constant lies and propaganda around the fictitious theft of the Presidential election in 2020 and it’s not hard to see a pattern; one of a possible strategy to undermine the results of the 2026 election.

Americans live in a democracy. Casting a ballot should be secure and as easy as possible. The SAVE America Act does little more than suppress voter participation for the millions of Americans who may not have the documentation required. Here in New York – where voting is a constitutional right – we should expect House members who supported this measure to provide verifiable proof of a substantial problem that justifies their support.

The nation deserves free and fair elections in 2026, not one that has been undermined by our elected officials in Washington.