Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer admitted on camera that the main reason he opposes the SAVE America Act is that it requires states to clean up their voter rolls, ensuring only those eligible to vote are listed.
The Democratic leader actually listed a series of falsehoods when arguing against the passage of the legislation.
First, Schumer said, “The Save Act is Jim Crow 2.0. More than 20 million people would lose their right to vote. And you would need to register either a passport or your original birth certificate. How many people have that?”
The act, according to the official Congress.gov website, says an acceptable form of proof of citizenship is anything that complies with the REAL ID Act of 2005.
State-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards indicating U.S. citizenship meet this standard. According to the Transportation Security Administration, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S territories’ driver’s licenses are REAL ID compliant.
A Pew Research Center poll released in August showed that 83 percent of Americans support voters being required to show a government-issued I.D.
So on point one, Schumer is wrong, factually and in terms of the American public’s view.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Sen. Chuck Schumer ADMITTED the SAVE America Act would remove illegal aliens from voter rolls 🤯
“He would PURGE the voter rolls…using a system set up by Elon Musk! MILLIONS would be purged from the rolls!”
“One of the nastiest pieces of legislation I’ve ever… pic.twitter.com/QHRCrTmTRN
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 8, 2026
Schumer next said that the Save America Act “would eliminate vote by mail.”
“Tell that to a senior citizen who’s confined to their home in a wheelchair that they’re going to lose their right to vote,” he added. Again, false.
The legislation specifically provides, “Each State shall, in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission, ensure that reasonable accommodations are made to allow an individual with a disability who submits the mail voter registration application form” to vote by mail.
In a social media post last week, President Donald Trump wrote, “NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!)”
Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post 04:12 PM EST 03.05.26
THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!
1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).
2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO VOTE.
3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!).
4.…
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 5, 2026
NBC News reported Wednesday that the Save America Act is actually more expansive in its allowance for mail-in voting than Trump indicated.
“The bill would make it harder to register to vote and cast ballots by mail, requiring most voters to show their proof of citizenship in person and to photocopy their voter IDs when they vote by mail — it wouldn’t exactly stop mail voting,” the outlet said.
Finally, Schumer got past his fake claims to the real issue that was troubling him about the Save America Act, though he couched it in falsehoods, too.
“And [Trump] would purge the voter rolls using an AI system set up by Musk and DOGE. So you could show up at the polling place this November, and they could say, ‘You’re no longer on the rolls.’ They don’t even notify you of it,” he said.
First, there is no Department of Government Efficiency anymore, nor does Elon Musk work for the government.
Again, according to Congress.gov, the Save America Act requires that states must remove noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters, as well as others ineligible to vote, like dead people.
So if you are a noncitizen who previously registered to vote, you could show up at the polling place and find out you’re no longer on the rolls, as Schumer said, and that’s a good thing.
If somehow voters were wrongfully removed from the registration rolls, which in all likelihood would be a very rare occurrence, they could still pull out their REAL ID and be issued a provisional ballot, which election officials would count once they confirmed their citizenship.
In fact, the legislation specifically states that nothing in its provisions “may be construed to supercede, restrict, or otherwise affect the ability of an individual to cast a provisional ballot in an election for Federal office or to have the ballot counted in the election if the individual is verified as a citizen of the United States.”
The upside of having trustworthy voter rolls far outweighs whatever occasional glitches might occur in the clean-up process.
So Schumer, as he often does, was engaging in fear-mongering because he’s apparently concerned that if the voter rolls are kept current, it will hurt the Democrats’ chances to win elections.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
