Ahead of the fall midterm elections, House Republicans have put forward comprehensive changes to voting laws that would impose new obstacles for voters.
Unveiled Thursday, the elections reform measure known as the “Make Elections Great Again Act” would establish new requirements for voter registration and ballot casting while limiting mail-in and ranked-choice voting, among other provisions. Certain changes would be implemented right away, while others would begin next year.
Backed by several conservative election reform advocates, the legislation faces significant challenges due to Republicans’ narrow congressional majorities and Democrats’ historical opposition to comparable proposals, making its passage unlikely.
Republicans have advocated for many of the bill’s provisions for years and have previously introduced legislation containing similar proposals, including the , which Steil sponsored in the summer of 2023. President Donald Trump has also frequently voiced his wish to implement election reforms. Last year, Trump signed an seeking to mandate proof of citizenship for voters, among other modifications, though the order was subsequently in the courts. Another bill that would require such documentation, known as the “,” or SAVE, awaits a Senate vote after passing the House last April. Senate Majority Leader John Thune that a version of that measure would be brought up for a vote in the upper chamber “at some point.”
The introduction of the new reform bill coincides with Republicans gearing up to defend their congressional majorities in the November midterms, as Trump has continued to repeat his unfounded claims that the 2020 election was “rigged” in recent days. On Wednesday, FBI agents searched Fulton County, Georgia, for ballots from the 2020 election, intensifying the Administration’s pursuit of Trump’s baseless fraud allegations.
“Americans deserve assurance that elections are conducted with integrity—including sensible voter ID requirements, accurate voter rolls, and citizenship verification,” stated Republican Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Administration Committee and the bill’s lead sponsor. “These reforms will enhance voter confidence, strengthen election integrity, and ensure voting is accessible while cheating is difficult.”
Rep. Joe Morelle, the committee’s ranking Democrat, pledged in a statement to “oppose this legislation at every opportunity.”
“President Trump and House Republicans fear the American electorate. They’re determined to manipulate the system so they can select their voters,” Morelle stated. “This bill represents their newest effort to prevent millions of Americans from voting.”
The following outlines the modifications the legislation would implement.
Stricter requirements for registration and voting
The legislation would mandate that prospective voters submit citizenship documentation to register and present photo identification before voting, effective in 2027.
These requirements could present difficulties for many American citizens. A Brennan Center for Justice study revealed that 9.1 percent of voting-age Americans—21.3 million individuals—lack easy access to citizenship documentation. Additionally, approximately half of U.S. citizens—about 146 million people—. Furthermore, up to 69 million American women possess birth certificates that don’t reflect their current legal name due to surname changes after marriage.
The bill also aims to mandate that states employ “auditable” paper ballots beginning this year. The overwhelming majority of states already comply, with nearly all votes cast on paper: A 2024 Brennan Center analysis projected that 98 percent of votes in the 2024 general election would be on paper ballots.
Additionally, starting this year, states would be obligated to perform regular voter list maintenance “no less frequently than once every 30 days, to confirm the eligibility of registered voters on the official list of eligible electors,” according to the bill.
Restrictions on mail-in voting
The legislation would stipulate that mail-in ballots must be received by the time polls close on Election Day to be counted, with an exemption for overseas military personnel.
It would also prohibit states from automatically mailing ballots to all voters beginning this year, requiring individuals to request a ballot to receive one.
Bans on ballot collecting and ranked-choice voting
The bill would forbid ranked-choice voting in federal elections starting this year. This voting method, which allows voters to rank multiple candidates by preference rather than selecting just one, is currently utilized in Maine and Alaska.
The measure would also prohibit the practice of gathering completed absentee or mail-in ballots and transporting them to polling places through a third party, commonly referred to as ballot collecting or “ballot harvesting.”
In such cases, a voter might complete a ballot and then delegate it to another individual for delivery to a drop-off site or postal facility. This practice is frequently used by rural residents or elderly individuals. It can also be utilized as a tactic by political organizations or campaigns to ensure that voters who requested absentee or mail-in ballots submit them, with workers or volunteers visiting voters’ homes and offering to deliver their ballots. Trump has consistently opposed this practice.
“GET RID OF BALLOT HARVESTING, IT IS RAMPANT WITH FRAUD. THE USA MUST HAVE VOTER I.D., THE ONLY WAY TO GET AN HONEST COUNT!,” he wrote on X in 2020.
Ballot collecting has been implicated in several fraud cases, including a prominent prosecution in North Carolina that led to four individuals pleading guilty to involvement in an absentee ballot fraud scheme during the 2016 and 2018 elections.
