Should You Need to Prove Citizenship to Vote? Ask Kansas.
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- President Trump is pressing senators to pass the Republican-backed SAVE America Act, a strict voter identification bill aimed at preventing voting fraud by requiring proof of citizenship.
- Kansas previously enacted a similar law in 2013, the Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Act, which required voter registration applicants to provide proof of citizenship such as a passport or birth certificate.
- The Kansas law was struck down by a federal judge after it was found to have blocked tens of thousands of eligible voters, mainly young and first-time voters, while identifying fewer than thirty noncitizens attempting to register.
- Despite these outcomes, some Kansas officials, including Senator Roger Marshall, support implementing similar voter ID requirements at the federal level, emphasizing election security over potential voter access concerns.
