{"id":2598638,"date":"2026-05-04T16:50:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T16:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:54:18","slug":"wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"WaPo Admits Many Democrat Voters Can&#8217;t Prove They&#8217;re Citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2598638&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The text discusses the proposed **Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act**, which would tighten federal voting rules by requiring **documentary proof of citizenship to register** and **voter ID to vote** in federal elections. It argues that the current system mainly relies on an honor-based attestation box on registration forms.<\/p>\n<p>Even though the bill passed the House, it has stalled in the Senate due to opposition from Democrats and some Republicans, with the article claiming that **Democrats might potentially be concerned about electoral consequences** for certain states. It highlights analysis by Yale Law School professor **Ian Ayres** and research fellow **jacob Slaughter**, who estimate that while citizenship-document possession rates between Democrats and Republicans might potentially be similar nationally, **state-level differences** could meaningfully shift outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>Their projections suggest related advantages for Republicans in **New Mexico** and **Nevada**, potentially moving nevada from \u201cbattleground\u201d to more solidly Republican. The piece also disputes the claim that the overall benefits would be \u201cminuscule,\u201d citing concerns that many registered voters lack documentary proof of citizenship and suggesting the effects would disadvantage Democrats rather than being neutral.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:2015-11-03_14_18_35_%22Welcome_to_Nevada%22_sign_along_southbound_U.S._Route_95_entering_Clark_County,_Nevada_from_San_Bernardino_County,_California.jpg\">  Famartin\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC By-SA 4.0<\/a>        <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/04\/wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=WaPo Admits Many Democrat Voters Can\u2019t Prove They\u2019re Citizens&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/04\/wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=WaPo Admits Many Democrat Voters Can\u2019t Prove They\u2019re Citizens&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/04\/wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/04\/wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=WaPo Admits Many Democrat Voters Can\u2019t Prove They\u2019re Citizens&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/04\/wapo-admits-many-democrat-voters-cant-prove-theyre-citizens\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Not a single Democrat in the Senate is willing to support the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, and a new op-ed from <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/LHJlV#selection-375.96-1299.353\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a> might just explain <em>why.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The SAVE America Act would amend the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and voter ID to cast a ballot in federal elections. The current \u201csafeguard\u201d preventing noncitizens from registering to vote and voting is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-must-pass-the-save-act-as-judge-blocks-trump-order\/\" title=\"Congress Must Pass The ... Act As Judge Blocks Trump Order\">tiny square box<\/a> on the federal registration form asking applicants to attest they are telling the truth about their citizenship status. In other words, the honor system.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2453985422\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The legislation passed the House (with a single Democrat voting alongside Republicans) but has stalled in the Republican controlled Senate, with a few RINOs and the entire Democrat apparatus opposing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-abbott-calls-special-session-making-texas-democrats-vote-on-election-integrity-bill\/\" title=\"Gov. Abbott Calls Special Session Making Texas ... Vote On Election Integrity Bill\">election integrity legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But perhaps Democrats are opposed to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-fight-wi-voter-id-amendment-despite-7-in-10-voters-supporting-it\/\" title=\"Dems Fight WI Voter ID Amendment Despite 7 In 10 Voters Supporting It\">common sense election integrity measure<\/a> because the legislation would endanger New Mexico and turn the battleground of Nevada into a solid Republican state, according to analysis from Yale Law School Professor Ian Ayres and Yale research fellow Jacob Slaughter.<\/p>\n<p>The two explain in their op-ed that they estimate at the national level, \u201c89 percent of Democrats and 90 percent of Republicans hold qualifying citizenship documents, a difference that is not statistically significant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That seemingly meaningless 1 percent difference, however, would actually be state-flipping, according to Ayres and Slaughter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut because the composition of the electorate varies across states, national parity masks meaningful state-level variation \u2014 and what we find, looking state by state, is that the bill may significantly advantage Republicans in a few key ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ayres and Slaughter estimate that Democrats are 13 percentage points \u201cless likely than Republicans to hold qualifying registration documents\u201d in New Mexico. And while Ayres and Slaughter estimate the passage of the SAVE America Act would only have \u201cmodest\u201d consequences for the midterms because those currently registered to vote would be \u201cunaffected,\u201d \u201cas more people would need to register after moving, changing their names or reaching voting age, this document shortfall could flip New Mexico to an electorate where Republicans have a 3.3-percentage-point advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ayres and Slaughter see the GOP having a similar advantage in the battleground state of Nevada. Their research shows that Democrats are 5.3 percentage points less likely than Republicans to have the required documents, and they project that passage of the legislation \u201cwould push [Nevada] from battleground to comfortably Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNationally, the overall effect leans Republican: Eight of 15 swing states show rightward shifts, and the only statistically significant results favor Republicans,\u201d Ayres and Slaughter wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Ayres and Slaughter ultimately conclude that the \u201cbenefits [of the legislation] are minuscule.\u201d They make this claim despite constant <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/04\/4-noncitizens-charged-for-allegedly-voting-as-save-america-act-stalls-in-senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">evidence<\/a> that noncitizens <em>do<\/em> vote, and despite admitting there are around 4 million currently registered voters lacking documentary proof of citizenship \u2014 that is, millions of people on the rolls who may not be able to prove they are citizens because <em>maybe<\/em> they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps Ayres and Slaughter only see it that way because the effect wouldn\u2019t be \u201cminuscule\u201d or neutral for Democrats.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/battleground-states\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">battleground states<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/documentary-proof-of-citizenship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">documentary proof of citizenship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-integrity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election integrity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ian-ayres\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ian Ayres<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jacob-slaughter\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jacob Slaughter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/nevada\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Nevada<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/new-mexico\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">New Mexico<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/noncitizen-voting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">noncitizen voting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/nvra\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">NVRA<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SAVE Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save-america-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SAVE America Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/swing-states\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">swing states<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-id\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voter ID<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/wapo\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">WaPo<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/washington-post\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Washington Post<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No Senate Democrats support the SAVE America Act; a WaPo op-ed may explain why<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2598639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2015-11-03_14_18_35_22Welcome_to_Nevada22_sign_along_southbound_U.S._Route_95_entering_Clark_County_Nevada_from_San_Bernardino_County_California-e1777923850803.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[73012,75045,79085,73324],"class_list":["post-2598638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democratic-party-2","tag-election-security-2","tag-voter-identification-2","tag-voting-rights-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2015-11-03_14_18_35_22Welcome_to_Nevada22_sign_along_southbound_U.S._Route_95_entering_Clark_County_Nevada_from_San_Bernardino_County_California-e1777923850803.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2598638"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2598642,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598638\/revisions\/2598642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2598639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2598638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2598638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2598638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}