Republicans in the US House of Representatives advanced the SAVE America Act on Wednesday, intensifying conservative pressure on the Senate to take up stricter voting legislation.
The legislation, which requires proof of citizenship for voter registration and identification at the ballot box, passed in a narrow 218-213 vote.
Conservatives are now weighing strategies to push the bill through the Senate, where rules typically require bipartisan backing to clear the 60-vote threshold.
Conservatives are considering options including mounting a public pressure campaign, uniting Senate Republicans behind a revived "talking filibuster," or attaching the bill to must-pass legislation to force a vote.
Republicans backing the bill argue that Democrats should support it because voter ID enjoys broad public approval, and they accused opponents of effectively endorsing illegal noncitizen voting, despite investigations and studies finding only rare cases of noncitizen voting.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski became the first Senate Republican to oppose the bill, saying proposals such as the SAVE Act would federalize elections, an approach Republicans previously rejected.
