Jeffries accuses Republicans of ‘voter suppression’ over bill requiring voter ID, proof of citizenship

The House of Representatives’ top Democrat claimed Republicans’ election security bill was tantamount to ‘voter suppression’ on Monday.

House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., criticized the House GOP-led SAVE America Act during his weekly press conference ahead of an expected vote on the bill coming as early as Wednesday.

‘Republicans have adopted voter suppression as an electoral strategy. That’s what the so-called SAVE Act is all about,’ Jeffries said.

He said the bill getting a vote this week is ‘worse than’ a previous iteration simply called the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which passed the House in April 2025 with support from all Republicans and four Democrats.

The main thrust of the SAVE Act was implementing a new proof of citizenship requirement in the voter registration process in all 50 states.

The new bill, led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, would also create a federal voter ID standard at the polls, requiring people to show a form of identification when casting a ballot in national elections.

Jeffries also pointed to a provision that would require information-sharing between state election officials and federal authorities in verifying citizenship on current voter rolls, accusing Republicans of trying to give Americans’ data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

‘This version, as I understand it, will actually give [the Department of Homeland Security] the power to get voting records from states across the country. Why would these extremists think that’s a good idea?’ Jeffries said.

‘Who’d want DHS and ICE, who have been brutally, viciously and violently targeting everyday Americans, to have more data about the American people? It’s outrageous. Something is really wrong with these folks. I think they’re trying to lose elections at this point.’

There is no validated evidence to date that non-citizen voting has swayed the results of any federal election.

But Republicans have argued that the influx of illegal immigrants under the Biden administration has made the problem a real possibility in coming elections.

Nevertheless, voter ID provisions have proven popular in multiple public surveys.

A Pew Research Center poll released in August 2025 showed a whopping 83% of people supported government-issued photo ID requirements for showing up to vote, compared to just 16% of people who disapproved of it.

Jeffries also said the bill would die in the Senate, where at least some Democrats are needed under current rules to overcome a filibuster and advance the legislation.

‘It’s not going to pass. If it squeaks by the House, it’s dead on arrival in the Senate. They’re wasting time,’ he said.

The real possibility of the bill failing in the Senate is why a group of House conservatives are pushing for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to upend the chamber’s rules on the filibuster to get rid of the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome one. Thune has not committed to any route.