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FIRST ON FOX: Republican governors and attorneys general are backing President Donald Trump’s push to require proof of citizenship for voting, warning in an exclusive letter that current registration systems rely on an “honor system” and fail to adequately verify who is casting ballots in federal elections.
The coalition argued the gaps give states with large populations of people in the country illegally “undue influence” over federal elections and how billions in taxpayer dollars are distributed.
The letters, from members of the America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Governors and Attorneys General Councils and obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, show coordinated support from Republican state leaders for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, legislation Trump has previously said he has to sign before he’ll sign anything else.
Trump has recently ramped up pressure on Congress to pass the SAVE Act, aka the SAVE America Act, calling mail-in voting “corrupt as h—” as the legislation moved to the Senate floor this week.
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“The biggest thing coming up is the SAVE America Act in the Senate,” Trump said Tuesday, adding, “Who would not have voter ID, who would not have proof of citizenship? … The only people who would want not to have that are people that want to cheat.”
Senate Republicans have already taken initial steps to advance the bill, voting 51-48 to begin debate, though its path forward remains uncertain as Democrats remain unified in opposition.
In a letter to Senate leadership, members of AFPI’s Governors Council described the SAVE America Act as a “commonsense measure” to ensure elections are decided “by, and only by, American citizens.”
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The letter was signed by a group of Republican governors, including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, as well as attorneys general from states including Iowa, Alabama and South Carolina.
They argued that while federal law limits voting in federal elections to U.S. citizens, states are “not required to verify citizenship at the time of registration.”
“States with large illegal populations and little to no safeguards… unfairly hold undue influence in our Nation’s law-making process and how billions of dollars in tax revenue are distributed,” the governors wrote.
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The governors also pointed to gaps in current systems, noting that while many states require identification at the polls, others lack mechanisms to verify eligibility at the registration stage. They said they are prepared to work with state election officials to implement the law in a way that protects access for eligible voters while strengthening safeguards.
In a separate letter, Republican attorneys general echoed those concerns, focusing on enforcement and the structure of current voter registration systems.
“Existing voter registration procedures largely rely on the honor system, with voters simply checking a box to claim U.S. citizenship without requiring any documentary verification,” the group wrote. The attorneys general said the SAVE Act would close that gap by requiring applicants to provide “documentary proof of United States citizenship” when registering to vote in federal elections.
They emphasized that the bill would preserve state control over election administration.
“[The SAVE Act] does not nationalize elections,” the group wrote, adding that it also would not “disenfranchise American citizens.”
The attorneys general also pushed back on criticism of the proposal, writing: “It is an insult to suggest that minorities, women, or members of the working class are not smart enough to obtain and provide simple proofs of citizenship.”
The governors said they are committed to implementing the law in a way that ensures “no eligible American citizen is unduly burdened” while preventing ineligible registrations.
“Our constituents deserve to know that their votes are protected and that elections in this country are free, fair, and secure,” they wrote.
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“President Trump’s SAVE America Act is commonsense legislation supported by the vast majority of Americans who want to ensure our elections are secure and that only American citizens vote in American elections,” White House spokeswoman Abigal Jackson said to Fox News Digital in a statement. “Our elections should be treated with the utmost security and the SAVE America Act will ensure that they are.”
The governors’ letter and attorneys’ general letter can be read at the links provided here.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this reporting.
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