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SAVE ActSection 2 › Proposal

What counts as documentary proof of citizenship

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, section 2, Sec. 2. Written by .

What counts as documentary proof of citizenship

The document says “meansWho acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 2 in the PDF
What the document says

“the term `documentary proof of United States citizenship' means, with respect to an applicant for voter registration, any of the following:”

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, Sec. 2

The list that follows names a REAL ID compliant identification showing citizenship, a valid United States passport, a military identification card with a service record showing birth in the United States, a government photo identification showing birth in the United States, and a government photo identification presented together with a qualifying birth certificate or other listed document.

What the document actually says

“the term `documentary proof of United States citizenship' means, with respect to an applicant for voter registration, any of the following:”

Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, Sec. 2
That sentence, in plain words

Here is what proof of being a citizen means. It means any of the papers on this list.

What this is about

The bill lists the papers that count. A passport counts. A REAL ID counts if it shows you are a citizen. A military ID counts with a service record. A photo ID counts if it shows you were born here. A photo ID plus a birth certificate also counts. A plain driver licence on its own does not count.

What has happened
Closely matches

Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections

2025-03-25 · 90 FR 14005

The order's list of qualifying documents in section 2(a)(ii) covers a United States passport, a REAL ID compliant identification indicating citizenship, and an official military identification card, which are the first items in the Act's list. The lists are not identical and the site has not compared them item by item.

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How to read this page

The quotation is the document's own words, exactly as printed, and we check the page number against the Act itself before publishing. The paragraph underneath is our summary, not the document's words. So is the plain English version, which is why it sits beside the quotation rather than replacing it.

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