The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, is a landmark civil rights law designed to eliminate illegal, discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes primarily in the South. It enforced the 15th Amendment, ensuring voting rights for racial minorities, boosting Black voter registration, and authorizing Federal oversight of jurisdictions with a history of voter suppression.
Congress enacted major amendments to the Act in 1970, 1975, 1982, 1992, and 2006. Each amendment coincided with an impending expiration of some or all of the Act’s special provisions. Originally set to expire by 1970, Congress repeatedly reauthorized the special provisions in recognition of continuing voting discrimination.
In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order attempting to assert presidential control over significant aspects of federal elections. The illegality at the heart of the order is that the Constitution gives power over federal elections to the states and Congress, not to the president.
Trump is pushing Congress to pass the SAVE Act, which would change how every American citizen registers to vote. There are millions of Americans who would be unable to fill the ID requirements. This will create problems at the polls and possibly make it a challenge to figure out who actually wins the elections. Congress seems unwilling to pass the SAVE Act, so of course, Trump is doing what he always does when he isn’t getting his way….making threats. This time to issue an executive order that would give him his way.
The Trump administration will renew its efforts to erode the Constitutional foundations of our democracy to make it harder for Americans to vote. This will have a particular effect on voters with limited English proficiency, people with disabilities, the elderly, and marginalized voters. Trump’s ongoing lies about the election process have endangered the American people’s trust in our country’s ability to carry out free and fair elections.
Trump is holding this bill hostage and has vowed not to sign any bills into law until the SAVE Act is passed. He is determined to have this accomplished before the Primary elections. There is not enough support in the Senate to pass the bill. It will need a 60-vote filibuster to pass. Republicans in the Senate are divided.
The bill would require voters to show documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. This would be a passport, or driver’s license, paired with a birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization, or adoption papers. Most people would need to show proof in person at an election office. Some states would create accommodations for disabled voters. This would complicate voter registration in the months leading up to the midterm elections. People who have changed their names would require even more documentation. This would affect many women who have married or divorced. People who vote by mail would need to submit photocopies of their identification documents. This presents a problem for Native Americans whose tribal ID cards do not have an expiration date.
The bill will also mandate a process to remove non-citizens from the polls. It will require every state to submit its voter rolls to the Federal SAVE database to help officials identify non-citizen voters.
All states are required to conduct voter roll list maintenance under Federal law, which includes removing non-citizens who accidentally make it on the voter rolls. There are very few non-citizens who are on the list, although Trump has repeatedly misstated the contents of the bill. He says there must be voter ID in the midterm elections when he is talking up the SAVE Act, but he fails to mention that the legislation’s photo ID provisions are already in place. He also suggested it would add restrictions on gender-affirming medical care and restrict transgender participation in sports, which it wouldn’t.
The bill will make it harder to register to vote and cast ballots by mail. It will require voters to show proof of citizenship in person and to photocopy their voter ID when they vote by mail.
Robert Aderholt voted YES on the bill.
Lynda Kirkpatrick