Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the SAVE America Act would require in-person voter registration, “something only 5% of Americans do today.' The act would require that, but the rate of in-person registrations is higher than Schumer said.
The SAVE America Act “would force Americans to register only in person, something only 5% of Americans do today."Volunteer Kathy Murphree holds a sign about voter registration during a job fair in Dallas on Jan.
14, 2026. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, now under consideration in the Senate, would require that documentary proof of citizenship be presented in person to register to vote. The percentage of people who currently register in person is between 11% and 42%, once you account for people who register in person at motor vehicle offices.Democrats are fighting hard against the Republican-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, saying it would erect roadblocks for Americans seeking to register to vote or cast a ballot.The act"would force Americans to register only in person, something only 5% of Americans do today," he told reporters.documentary proof of citizenship be presented in person to register to vote. But he’s wrong about the percentage of Americans who register to vote in person, according to federal data. Federal surveys show it’s higher than that. With President Donald Trump’s strong support, the House passed the SAVE America Act in February following years of falsehoods and exaggerations about noncitizen voting, something thatThe bill says someone seeking to register to vote"shall not be registered to vote in an election for federal office unless the applicant presents documentary proof of United States citizenship in person to the office of the appropriate election official" by the registration deadline. Eliza Sweren-Becker, deputy director for the voting rights and election program at the liberal Brennan Center for Justice, said this requirement would apply not only to new registrants and those registering in a new state, but also to potentially a lot of people who don’t consider themselves new registrants. For instance, depending on how a state interpreted the bill’s language, moving to a new county within a state or to a new voting precinct could count as a new voter registration and trigger the citizenship proof requirement. States’ decisions on how to classify residential moves will affect whether the documents are needed, Sweren-Becker said. The law is also vague about who qualifies as"an election official," she said. Would that mean only election workers? Or would an employee of a motor vehicle agency — where many voting registrations are made — qualify?Data from the federal Election Assistance Commission shows the percentage of voters who register in person is significantly higher than Schumer’s count.by the liberal Center for American Progress that used data from a 2022 survey by the Election Assistance Commission. The report said But this data is outdated and excludes in-person registration at other government offices and at polling places. Every two years, the Election Assistance Commission compiles the Election Administration and Voting Survey. The most recent edition reflects 2024 election cycleThe survey tracked at least six ways voters would have registered in person: at election offices ; at polling places and voting sites ; at public assistance offices ; at disability services offices ; at armed forces recruitment offices ; and at other public facilities, such as libraries ."Clearly, more than the 5% or 6% going to elections offices are registering in person," said Matthew Weil, vice president for governance at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank.allows voters to register to vote when they get driver’s licenses or do other automobile-related tasks. Because some states allow voter registration online through motor vehicle agencies, and states’ policies on voter registration at those agencies vary, it’s unclear what share of that 30.7% is occurring in person versus online. The data doesn’t specify, a spokesperson for the Election Assistance Commission told PolitiFact. But voting administration experts said it was highly likely that many such registrations required an in-person visit. So the percentage of-in person voter registrations before the 2024 election was between 11% and 42% . The survey listed four categories that do not require registering in person, and collectively they accounted for almost half of all voter registrations before the 2024 election. Automatic voter registration — an option in some states where voters are registered automatically unless they opt out — accounted for 25.2%. Online registration accounted for 13.9%; mail, email and fax registrations accounted for 8.3%; and voter registration drives accounted for 2%. "A sizable share of Americans do register online and by mail, sharing their drivers license information for identity verification or showing ID when they vote," said Lisa Bryant, a political scientist at California State University-Fresno."These convenient options will very likely disappear if SAVE were passed."Schumer said the SAVE America Act"would force Americans to register only in person, something only 5% of Americans do today." The bill under consideration in the Senate would require documentary proof of citizenship be presented in person to register to vote. However, Schumer significantly understated the percentage of people who register in person; before the 2024 election, it was between 11% and 42%, depending on how many registrations stemmed from in-person visits to motor vehicle agencies, a data point that is not being collected.Email interview with Justin Levitt, professor at Loyola Law School, March 17, 2026 Email interview with Eliza Sweren-Becker, deputy director for the voting rights and election program at the Brennan Center for Justice, March 18, 2026 Email interview with Matthew Weil, vice president for governance at the Bipartisan Policy Center, March 18, 2026 Email interview with Lisa Bryant, California State University-Fresno political scientist, March 19, 2026The SAVE America Act “would force Americans to register only in person, something only 5% of Americans do today."“There is no history … that shows an air campaign alone will result in positive regime change. In fact, there's not a single example of it in the entirety of American history.”“You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple.” Credit card companies would be “in violation of the law” if they don’t cap interest rates at 10% by Jan. 20. The SAVE America Act “would force Americans to register only in person, something only 5% of Americans do today." El líder de Corea del Norte Kim Jong Un dijo que “ningún Dios podrá proteger a Estados Unidos de nuestras nuevas armas”. "BREAKING: So the Israeli media reports Itamar Ben‑Gvir died in a 'car crash,' while in fact he’s been obliterated by an Iranian missile strike on his home." El Presidente de El Salvador Nayib Bukele dijo, “con las guerras que ha empezado Donald Trump les pido a todos los inmigrantes en Estados Unidos que piensen en salir de ese país”.
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