Are We On the Verge of a Breakthrough on the SAVE America Act?

PJ Media ^ | 03/22/2026 | Matt Margolis

[SeekAndFind]

I’ve been admittedly skeptical that the current effort to pass the SAVE America Act will succeed. I want it to pass. Desperately. And from where I sit, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t pass. But we all know why something so popular and commonsense can’t get to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. Democrats in Congress don’t want election integrity and are fighting against it like their power is on the line.

Despite my skepticism, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), the lead sponsor of the bill, is confident the SAVE America Act is going to pass — and after just six days of debate, Democrats may already be looking for a way out.

As you know, the bill does two things. It requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a voter ID when casting a ballot. Polls repeatedly show that Americans overwhelmingly support these ideas, regardless of political party or race.

And Sen. Lee knows it, too.

"Americans overwhelmingly believe that voters in the United States, you need to be US citizens," Lee said. "So our bill does two things in order to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat."

The fight right now isn't really about the merits. Let’s be honest about that. It's about the Senate's cloture threshold, the 60-vote supermajority needed to end debate and move to a final vote. Republicans don't have those numbers on their own, which means they need Democrats to break ranks. Lee's strategy is to make them do exactly that, and he's drawing on a historical playbook to get it done.

"We're using a playbook that in a slightly different form was used in 1964 to overcome a cloture gap of thirty-two votes," Lee said, referring to the landmark Civil Rights Act debate.

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: congress; saveact; senate; vergeofabreakthrough; voterid

[SeekAndFind]

When your title is a question, the answer is usually NO.

[SeekAndFind]

Lee is referring to the landmark Civil Rights Act debate.

Back then, the Senate debated for sixty days before enough votes materialized to close debate. Today’s cloture deficit is far smaller. “We’ve got only a ten-vote cloture deficit to overcome here,” Lee noted. “This is a simpler bill, and it’s preferred by eighty-five percent of American voters.”

The math is encouraging, but Lee argues that the process takes time — and that’s entirely the point. Lee described how sustained debate wears members down and eventually forces movement.

“Members grow exhausted over time, and with that exhaustion, we’ll find ways of achieving consensus, perhaps some minor modifications to the legislation, either face-saving or to alleviate substantive concerns,” he said. “We can get there. This will pass if we give it enough time.”

He was careful not to overpromise a timeline. “I don’t know exactly how many weeks, just as they didn’t know when they started the process in 1964,” Lee acknowledged. But he added quickly: “I don’t think it’ll take that long.”

According to Lee, the early signs are apparently promising. After only six days on the floor, he says Democrats are reportedly already hunting for an exit, which tells you something about the political pressure building around this vote.

The only secret to passing the SAVE America Act, Lee says, is time and willpower. Six days in, it looks like the willpower is holding — and the clock is doing the rest of the work.

[blackdog]

That answer would be, "No".

We were married for 44 years. Last year we were required to submit our county certified marriage license in order to not lose our employer sponsored health insurance coverage. It also happened to many of our married coworkers. I don't recall my leftist political overlords expressing Jim Crow II style outrage?

[4Runner]

It is purely symbolic. Doesn’t matter if it passes and is signed into “law”. The problem is always enforcement. The law will have no teeth, as so many of them do not, except for punitive financial penalties which end up being just “the cost of doing business”. Its provisions will never be observed or enforced in sanctuary states, sanctuary cities in red states, or sanctuary counties in red states. I see how those operate, I live in one. They are a law unto themselves and nobody ever messes with them. The U.S. Congress is no longer a solution. It’s become a problem.

[Henry Hnyellar]

Is it Jim Crow 2.0 or 1930s Germany? I can’t keep up.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Members grow exhausted over time, and with that exhaustion, we’ll find ways of achieving consensus, perhaps some minor modifications to the legislation, either face-saving or to alleviate substantive concerns,”

What a way to govern...grind them down until they are exhausted and capitulate.

[Alberta's Child]

From what I understand, the issue isn't the length of the debate -- whether it's days, weeks or months.

The challenge for Democrats and Republicans alike with a "standing filibuster" is that no other bills can be debated and passed while the process goes on.

So forcing the Democrats to drag this out effectively helps them by stopping the occasional vote on the DHS funding, for example.

[pangaea6]

Does this act also ban mail in votes or revamp the absentee ballot system?

[dadfly]

only if the ‘stupid’ wing of the uniparty suddenly gets smart.

[ProgressingAmerica]

We’ve gotta defeat the republicans before we can defeat the democrats.

[Carry_Okie]

Lee said. "So our bill does two things in order to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat."

Not exactly. It may be harder, but it doesn't get rid of mail-in-ballots in all but extreme cases. And then there's still Dominion.

[MotorCityBuck]

Speaking of geriatrics, I think you need to change your diaper Biden. LOL!

[Inyo-Mono]

As you know, the bill does two things. It requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a voter ID when casting a ballot.

In California anyone, including illegal aliens, is automatically registered to vote when applying for a drivers license. If this passes, the DMV will have to revamp their entire computer system.

[fwdude]

I can see a severely weakened version, containing 90% of what Democrats demand, passing. It will end up being a suggestion, a “best policy” guidance paper.

Completely worthless.

[Carl Vehse]

If the SAVE Act does not pass, the Senate will have demonstrated (if they haven’t already) that it’s members are now dedicated to the destruction of the United States of America.

[JerryWest_44]

Real ID drivers license can be used only if they show US citizenship

[DIRTYSECRET]

What happens if a speaker collapses? Many are well into their 70’s.

[ModelBreaker]

“It is purely symbolic. Doesn’t matter if it passes and is signed into “law”.”

First, it has to get by the Obamajudge, who will enjoin enforcement.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Several years ago in Georgia we had to bring our birth certificate etc for driver’s license renewal. Our new license has a hologram on it to show we proved citizenship.

[Bob Wills is still the king]

“It is purely symbolic. Doesn’t matter if it passes and is signed into “law”. The problem is always enforcement. The law will have no teeth, as so many of them do not, except for punitive financial penalties which end up being just “the cost of doing business”. Its provisions will never be observed or enforced in sanctuary states, sanctuary cities in red states, or sanctuary counties in red states. I see how those operate, I live in one. They are a law unto themselves and nobody ever messes with them. The U.S. Congress is no longer a solution. It’s become a problem.”
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It won’t even get that far. There will be multiple states filing lawsuits to stop it the moment it’s signed. They’ll be arguing that it’s a direct violation of the 9th and 10th Amendments, as election oversight is not an enumerated power granted to the federal government under our current Constitution.