Maine's two Democratic members in the U.S. House split Thursday over a bill that would require people to prove they are U.S. citizens before voting. The bill effectively enshrines President Donald Trump's executive order on noncitizen voting into law even though noncitizens are already barred from voting in federal elections and no state allows it.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, makes sweeping changes to voter registration. Among them is requiring people to provide a government-issued ID, such as a passport, to be presented alongside their birth certificate when registering to vote.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, of the 1st District, voted against the measure, arguing that will erect voting barriers to the many U.S. citizens who don't have passports and those whose current name is different from their birth certificate, including women who change their surname through marriage or divorce.
Rep. Jared Golden, of the 2nd District, was one of four Democrats who joined Republicans to support it.
Voting rights advocates like the Brennan Center for Justice have described the proposal as one of the worst pieces of voting legislation in American history. They argue that it will prevent millions of American citizens from voting because an estimated 21 million people don't have the necessary documents. Around 51% of Americans have passports, according to 2024 U.S. State Dept. data.
Noncitizens are already ineligible to vote in federal elections, but Golden argued the change is necessary to prevent them from voting in state and local elections.
"And I think that steps to ensure that our elections are for American citizens is really important to protecting that right (to vote)," he said.
Studies have shown that noncitizen voting is rare and allowed in nearly two dozen municipalities and the District of Columbia. But President Trump has repeatedly raised the specter of noncitizen voting, including falsely claiming that it played a role in his 2020 election loss. It's become a Republican wedge issue ever since.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat elected by the state legislature, said the bill will disproportionately affect rural voters and women, 84% of whom change their surname either when getting married or divorced.
“Maine elections are already free, safe, and secure, and the SAVE Act will do nothing but make it harder for rural voters, voters who have changed their names, or younger voters to register to vote and cast their ballots,” Bellows said in a statement. “It is disappointing to see D.C. politicians legislating based on misinformation, rather than helping local election officials continue to do our jobs well.”
Golden countered that the bill has provisions that ensure people who have changed their names can still register to vote. According to the bill, states would be responsible for developing that process.
The bill moves to the Republican-controlled Senate where it will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. Republicans don't have the votes to reach that threshold on their own.
