Congress weighs potential changes to voter registration requirements

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Early voting in Texas begins in just five weeks, and Congress is at a standstill over potential changes to voting laws. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act would require voters to show proof of citizenship -- such as a passport of birth certificate -- when they register.

Texas Republican Chip Roy introduced the bill to combat noncitizen voting, and House Republicans are insisting it pass with a funding bill. This fight could cause a government shut down.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul said he supports the effort.

“There's a lot of loss of faith in our elections, and something like this would give people more confidence,” McCaul said.

Texas removed 6,500 potential noncitizens from its voter registration list last month, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

"It's against federal law and has long been for illegals to vote here, and it's not happening,” U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett said. “Ken Paxton has searched all over the state, and he hasn't been able to find example of people improperly entering the country and voting."

Doggett said the move would suppress legal voting.

"It does not apply just to immigrants,” Doggett said. “It applies to all of us. If you don't have your birth certificate, if you don't have a passport, it's not good enough to use the REAL ID that gets you through airport security, you won't be able to vote."

This comes as Texas officials, such as Attorney General Ken Paxton, are investigating alleged ballot harvesting and voter fraud. However, between 2005 and 2023, his office successfully prosecuted 155 people for illegal voting. According to the Texas Secretary of State's office, 17.9 million Texans are registered to vote.

Doggett said there is no room for compromise on the SAVE Act. McCaul believes pairing the act with the short term spending bill is just the start of negotiations.

"I don't think that will survive the Senate,” McCaul said. “And then we're going to go back to whether we shut down the government or not, and I've never been a fan of that because that doesn't accomplish, really, anything."