Most Americans assume two basic rules already exist: You should prove who you are to vote, and only U.S. citizens should be allowed to register to vote. Yet federal law is lax on both points. Voter ID laws vary greatly from state to state, and while it’s illegal for noncitizens to cast ballots, nothing requires states to actually check whether each vote belongs to a citizen.
President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are eager to fix this gaping hole in the integrity of America’s elections. The House plans to vote this week on the SAVE America Act, which would require prospective voters to show proof of citizenship before they can register. Enacting it would build public trust when it’s desperately needed—and dispel decades of myths about how voting works.
