The SAVE America Act wouldn’t have stopped the blue wave

President Donald Trump went on a posting bender Thursday, and among his rants was this one: 

​​The Republican Senate can no longer be the place “where things are sent to die.” Not passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT (Voter I.D., Proof of Citizenship), sent up five times by the House, was devastating to the Republican Party in the Midterms. Not terminating the Filibuster, and getting EVERYTHING even “dreamt” of, approved, when the Dems will definitely do so, will go down as being one of the greatest mistakes in the Political History of America. So sad!!! Anyway, good luck to our Republican Senators, work hard, and congratulations to John Thune for another year of leadership, Minority though it may be! President DJT

His passive-aggressive dig at Thune was fun, not gonna lie. But is it true that the SAVE America Act would’ve spared Republicans from devastation this election? 

Trump highlights two key components of the SAVE act: a voter ID requirement and proof of citizenship. But look at the states where Democrats made some of their most dramatic gains. 

Start with voter ID. Texas had it. So did Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina. Democrats flipped Senate seats in every one of them. Maine was the only confirmed Democratic Senate pickup without a voter ID law. If Democrats finish the job in Alaska, that would add another pickup in a state that requires identification. 

And these victories weren’t isolated to the Senate. Democrats also flipped the governorships in Iowa, Ohio, and Texas. In Georgia and Michigan, which also have voter ID laws, Democrats held their Senate seats and won the governorships by flipping Georgia’s and holding Michigan’s.

What about citizenship verification? Several of these states already used the Trump administration’s federal SAVE database to check their voter rolls. Kansas launched a statewide review. North Carolina submitted nearly 7.4 million voter records. Georgia and Ohio used SAVE in their citizenship audits, and Iowa used it to check voters flagged in an earlier review. Democrats won Senate races in all five.

Then there’s Texas, where Republicans suffered perhaps their most spectacular ass-whoopin’ of the night. The state had voter ID. It ran its voter list through SAVE. Democrats still swept every statewide office on the ballot anyway.

Voter ID and citizenship checks were already in place across much of the territory Republicans lost. So no, Donnie, the SAVE America Act was never going to save your party from you. 

This is why I’d happily give Republicans a national voter ID requirement—with free IDs that people can readily obtain—in exchange for a ban on partisan gerrymandering, automatic and same-day voter registration, guaranteed early voting, and restoring the Voting Rights Act’s protections against discriminatory election changes.

Yup, I’d absolutely make that deal. 

And it’s why Trump is wrong about the SAVE America Act having a meaningful impact on the midterm results. In fact, it very much could’ve made things worse. 

As I wrote in March, an effort to harass transgender people could inadvertently create paperwork headaches for millions of married women whose current names don’t match their birth certificates—including plenty of Republican voters. The bill provides a process for resolving discrepancies, but that still means potentially more paperwork. Trump won 52% of married women in 2024, and the Pew Research Center found that conservative Republican women are especially likely to take their husbands’ last names.

That doesn’t make voting roadblocks harmless. Eligible citizens still get caught in them, and close elections can still turn on who gets to participate.

But those roadblocks offer Republicans no guarantee of victory. Not even close. 

Trump wants to blame Senate Republicans for failing to change the rules. It sure is easier than looking in the mirror.

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