WASHINGTON — Alaska Congressman Nick Begich said it’s just common sense to require a photo ID to vote and to make sure that only citizens can register.
“For years, there have been questions levied, on both sides of the aisle, about the integrity of elections,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “We can't have that. That's not healthy for our democratic republic to be questioning the nature of elections.”
The SAVE America bill will restore trust in election integrity, he said.
The U.S. House passed it on Wednesday. It requires people to show proof of citizenship to register to vote and to show photo ID to get a ballot.
Begich signed on as a co-sponsor Monday, though the bill's requirements for proving citizenship asks more of voters than he first thought.
Also called the SAVE Act, the legislation is a huge priority for Republicans. President Trump, Elon Musk and a host of right-wing influencers are pressuring the Senate to pass it. They say the survival of American democracy depends on ensuring that non-Americans don’t cast ballots.
Many surveys and audits show illegal voting by noncitizens is rare. Democrats say what the SAVE Act will really do is prevent millions of eligible people from voting.
Begich cites polling that shows more than 80% of Americans want to require photo identification at the polls. The bill won’t be hard to comply with, he said.
To vote, he said, Alaskans could just show their REAL ID card at their polling place, or another type of photo identification listed in the bill.
Where a person would have to prove citizenship is when they register. Begich said that requirement, too, is as simple as showing a REAL ID.
“The REAL ID was acquired in a manner that is demonstrative of your citizenship status,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
But that’s not correct, as a Begich staffer acknowledged in an email after the interview. States issue REAL ID cards to noncitizens, such as green card holders, who are not allowed to vote.
If the SAVE bill becomes law, a person would have to bring other documentation of citizenship, like a passport or a birth certificate, with them when they register to vote. Technically, the bill doesn’t end registration by mail or online, but the applicant would still have to present documents “in person to the office of the appropriate election official” before the registration deadline.
“The Congressman’s view is that for most Americans, including most Alaskans, this is documentation they already possess and use for other routine purposes (employment verification, travel, obtaining a REAL ID, applying for benefits, etc.),” the email from Begich’s office says.
Voting advocates say the bill imposes several requirements that will discourage people from participating in elections, like requiring that mailed ballots include a photocopy of the voter’s ID card.
“This is creating incredible barriers to voting,” said Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out the Native Vote.
It would be especially hard on communities off Alaska’s road system and those that are far from government services, she said.
“It's just asking way too much of a lot of demographics and pockets in the state,” she said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski calls the bill federal overreach. The Constitution gives states the authority to determine the “times, places and manner” of federal elections, and Murkowski said states know best the on-the-ground realities.
“I'm not saying you shouldn't have identification,” she said. “I’m saying that it is left to the states to determine how you provide that proof.”
Begich and other sponsors of the SAVE Act say the Elections Clause in the Constitution leaves a lot of authority to the states but not everything.
“It continues,” Begich said, reading the end of the clause. “‘... But the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations.’”
That, Begich said, gives Congress the power to impose the SAVE Act.
The bill, so far, does not have the 60 votes it needs to pass the Senate.
Forty-nine Republicans are co-sponsors, including Sen. Dan Sullivan. He did not respond to an interview request. His office sent a statement saying the bill wouldn’t disenfranchise Alaskans.
Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the number of Republican senators co-sponsoring.
