States Split on Need for Federal Rules to Govern Voter Rolls

April 16, 2026, 6:22 PM UTC

State election officials gave Congress conflicting messages on voter roll rules, disagreeing about whether the federal government needs a larger role in maintaining them.

At a House Administration Committee hearing Thursday, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican, said federal restrictions limit how quickly states can update voter rolls, while Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, said states already have systems in place to verify voter registrations.

The exchange comes Senate Republicans wrestle with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act (S. 1383; BGOV Bill Analysis), which would require documentary proof of citizenship ...

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