The claims circulating online about how the SAVE America Act would work through driver’s licenses hinge on whether a license contains citizenship proof, the Associated Press reported in a fact check as the Senate debated the bill. The AP said the bill would require voters to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering for federal elections, which means a standard driver’s license would not automatically satisfy the requirement.
The AP report reviewed social media posts from Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, and Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, who disputed each other over whether people could use their driver’s licenses to register to vote. Duckworth wrote on X that “Under the SAVE Act, you cannot use your driver’s license to register to vote” and said Republicans wanted people to buy a passport instead. Lee responded on X, calling Duckworth’s post “this is a lie” and pointing to legislative language he said requires states to establish processes for voter registration applicants who cannot provide required proof of U.S. citizenship.
AP said the factual picture is narrower than Duckworth’s assertion. It reported that driver’s licenses that verify citizenship—such as enhanced driver’s licenses—could be used for voter registration in a limited number of states if the SAVE America Act passes. For people without such a license, or for people living in states or territories that do not issue enhanced licenses, AP said the bill’s document-proof requirement would require additional documentation.
In the AP fact check, Pamela Smith, president and CEO of Verified Voting, said that driver’s licenses are “not designed to prove your citizenship” and that the requirement to prove citizenship is “separate and beyond” what licenses typically establish. AP added that the SAVE America Act requires “documentary proof of United States citizenship” for federal voter registration, including REAL ID-compliant identification that confirms citizenship, a valid U.S. passport, or government-issued photo identification that includes the applicant’s place of birth.
The AP report said other forms of government-issued photo identification that do not state place of birth or otherwise confirm citizenship would need to be paired with additional documentation. It also said legal U.S. residents who are not citizens can obtain a REAL ID, which is not the same as proving citizenship. The report cited the Department of Homeland Security’s position that only five states—Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington—issue enhanced driver’s licenses that are REAL ID-compliant and prove citizenship as well as identity.
AP also reported that states such as Montana, South Dakota, Florida and Iowa have passed or considered laws to require licenses to include citizenship markers. Voting-rights advocates warned that this still would not make ordinary REAL IDs sufficient for the bill’s citizenship-proof requirement. Eliza Sweren-Becker, deputy director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said that “For the vast majority of Americans, a REAL ID would not be sufficient to register to vote under the SAVE Act,” adding that most REAL IDs do not have an “affirmative indication of U.S. citizenship” required by the bill.
The AP fact check also described the political arguments behind the dispute. It said Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have argued that the SAVE America Act is needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which they say is already illegal in federal elections and can result in felony charges and deportation, though the report said such cases are rare. Opponents, AP said, argue that proof-of-citizenship requirements would create an undue burden for many voters because obtaining documents like passports and processing government records can be costly and slow, including for birth or marriage certificates.
AP said a recent survey found that more than 9% of voting-age Americans—21.3 million people—cannot readily access documents proving they are citizens. Neither Duckworth nor Lee responded to a request for comment. The AP report said the House passed the SAVE America Act in April 2025 and that it is currently being debated by the Senate, with efforts to end a Homeland Security shutdown that caused severe travel disruptions having stalled as Trump linked any deal to his push to pass the act.