Trump wants it to ensure his midterm election victory: what is this SAVE America Act that could change everything?

President Trump is using all his weight. Donald Trump has vowed not to enact any other law until it is adopted. At the same time, according to his words, this is “a major battle for the soul of the country” and the guarantee for his political camp to “win the midterm elections.”

So, what is this bill that Donald Trump so passionately wants? It is the “SAVE America Act,” a bill on elections currently being debated in the American Senate, which risks disenfranchising millions of Americans just a few months before the crucial midterm elections.

Since his defeat in the 2020 presidential election against Joe Biden, Donald Trump repeatedly claims without evidence that victory was stolen from him due to alleged massive fraud. He believes this bill simply strengthens election security.

However, no evidence has ever been provided regarding the existence of electoral fraud that significantly impacted the outcome of a US election. The Brennan Center, a rights defense research organization, explains: “In-depth studies reveal that fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is almost nonexistent, and many alleged cases of fraud are actually errors by voters or administrative officials.”

The text requires voters to provide a document proving their American citizenship to register on the electoral rolls – like a birth certificate or passport – and to present an identification piece when voting, such as a driver’s license.

Unlike other countries like France, the United States does not provide a national identity card. In several states, for example, a student ID can serve as identification.

Critics emphasize that it is already illegal for a non-citizen to vote in US elections and are alarmed at the barriers preventing millions of Americans from voting freely and fairly. The Bipartisan Policy Center notes that 9% of voters “do not possess, or do not have easy access to, a document proving citizenship,” preventing them from registering on the electoral rolls. According to the Brennan Center, “almost half of Americans do not have a passport.”

The most affected voters will be minorities, African-American voters, “women, transgender individuals,” and low-income individuals, who “cannot afford a passport and do not travel,” according to Rick Hasen, a professor of election law at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Since the past fifteen years, Republican states have tended to make it more difficult to register on electoral rolls, says Rick Hasen, while “Democratic states adopt laws facilitating” access to voting. Each side hopes to improve its chances of winning the election by changing the electoral landscape.

The bill has already been adopted by the Republican-majority House of Representatives but faces a more complex situation in the Senate. Due to the upper chamber’s rules, it would need 60 out of 100 votes to pass. However, Republicans only hold 53 seats.

Many conservative figures, like Donald Trump himself or Elon Musk, are pushing to change the rules and lower the required vote threshold to 51. But the Senate’s Republican majority leader, John Thune, has warned that such a change does not have enough support among Republican senators.