Election security is a hot topic in Utah and federal politics. Recently, several high-profile court rulings and actions by state and federal political figures about election security have renewed interest in the issue.

 

Federal-State Fights Over Voter Data

In September, Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson received a letter from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) informing her that she is being investigated for not giving the federal government unredacted data of Utah’s voter rolls after the DOJ requested voter rolls from all 50 states. Utah and almost 30 other states argue that the DOJ’s order violates both state and federal privacy laws. Most of the suits have been dismissed in court, though Utah’s is still pending.

In response to the DOJ letter, Governor Cox defended Henderson on X, writing, “Legal disagreements between Utah and the federal government should be resolved in court. It is wrong for the DOJ to investigate or threaten the lieutenant governor for carrying out her responsibilities under Utah law.”

More recently, on October 9, the DOJ’s attempt to collect unredacted voter rolls from states was struck down for the entire nation by a federal judge who wrote that the Justice Department’s request violated federal privacy laws. 

 

USPS Rule Updates

In March, President Trump signed an executive order that aimed to address mail-in voter fraud: “The Federal Government has an unavoidable duty under Article II of the Constitution of the United States to enforce Federal law, which includes…maintaining public confidence in election outcomes.” The order also states that “Unique ballot envelope identifiers, such as bar codes, enable confirmation that only citizens receive and cast ballots, reducing the risk of fraud and protecting the integrity of Federal elections.”

If implemented, the order would require the U.S. Postal Service to use special envelopes to track mail-in ballots as well as to provide states with “Mail-In and Absentee Participation Lists”. 

However, in September the Supreme Court upheld a federal court’s injunction that prevents parts of the executive order from taking place largely because the November general election is too close for state election officials to “reasonably implement the rule”. Over 20 states currently permit voting by mail in some form. Utah is one of 8 states that conducts all-mail elections. 

The Supreme Court has allowed some parts of the executive order to proceed, including a provision establishing a voter registration database that states can use to verify voter citizenship on a “case-by-case” basis and remove noncitizens from their rolls.

 

The SAVE America Act

In addition to President Trump’s efforts to reform elections through executive action, Utah U.S. Senator Mike Lee has championed a bill, the SAVE America Act, that aims to address election security concerns, especially as they relate to non-citizen voting. All members of Utah’s federal delegation support the bill.

The SAVE America Act, otherwise known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, is a federal elections bill designed to ensure that only citizens vote in federal elections. It passed the House but remains stalled in the U.S. Senate. The latest iteration (Senate Amendment 4420 to S. 1383) is unlikely to pass the Senate before the November election because of opposition from Democratic senators. 

 

What would the SAVE America Act do if it became law?

In addition to its election-related provisions, the Senate amendment to the House-passed bill addresses other topics, including women’s and girls’ sports and certain medical procedures involving minors. The amendment would require anyone registering to vote in federal elections to provide “documentary proof of United States citizenship.” Acceptable documentation would include a driver’s license that complies with REAL ID requirements and indicates citizenship, a U.S. passport, certain military identification and records, a qualifying government-issued photo ID showing place of birth, or a photo ID accompanied by a birth certificate.  

The amendment would also require photo ID from prospective voters before they can receive a ballot to vote in federal elections. This means that voters would need to show a driver’s license with their photo, a “state-issued identification card” with a photo and expiration date, a passport, a military identification card, or a photo ID document from a tribal authority before being allowed to cast a ballot.

With exceptions for military deployment, illness, serving as the primary caregiver for a medically incapacitated person, verified travel, and certain other hardships, all voters would have to vote in person if the bill is passed. This would prevent states from conducting elections where it automatically mails ballots to registered voters.

Finally, the amendment would require states to remove noncitizens from voter registration rolls, and it would prevent states from counting absentee ballots if they arrive after the polls close on Election Day.

 

What do critics and proponents think?

Proponents of the bill, including all of Utah's federal delegation, argue that the bill is a vital safeguard for securing elections, especially in the wake of events like New Jersey’s recent discovery that over 5,000 noncitizens were registered to vote and several hundred had voted in recent elections. The provisions included within the bill are supported broadly by Utahns and Americans alike. Proponents see the bill as a way to restore public trust in elections generally. In response to a report that indicated 30,000 noncitizens have been mistakenly added to voter rolls since the early 2000s in states across the country, Senator Lee recently argued that the SAVE America Act would ensure that current laws and policies against noncitizen voting are actually followed, stating: “even though we have laws that prohibit things like noncitizen voting, those laws have been rendered difficult and essentially impossible to enforce.”

At the same time, critics say that the bill, if passed, may disenfranchise certain voters who are less likely to have the required documents on hand but are nonetheless U.S. citizens. It could also create confusion and be expensive to implement. They also argue that instances of voter fraud among noncitizens are extremely rare and have not been enough to tip the balance of recent federal elections. Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson of Utah has also signaled her opposition to the bill, stating that the mandatory photo ID standard for mail-in ballots would conflict with the Utah Constitution’s protections for secret ballots. She also stated that the bill would need to be passed with much more time before the election to ensure that states and federal agencies could implement it. 

What obstacles stand in the way of its passage?

In order for the bill to be passed, at least 60 senators would need to vote to invoke cloture—or end debate on the bill. This is unlikely since all Democrats oppose the bill and Republicans only have 53 seats in the chamber. Some Republicans have floated doing away with the filibuster or changing it to be a “talking filibuster” (essentially requiring opposition senators to speak continuously in order to delay passage) to pass the bill, but it seems unlikely that enough will back doing so. While both of Utah’s U.S. senators agree with the underlying premise of the bill, Senator Curtis is not in favor of voting to end the Senate filibuster, stating that it “protects the rights of the minority in the Senate,” while Senator Lee is in favor of ending the Senate filibuster, or at least returning to the talking filibuster, to get the bill passed.

Additionally, the Senate is now in recess and will not reconvene until after the election in November, so the bill will have no impact on this year’s general election. 

 

The Takeaway

In short, election security is a major issue facing Utah and the nation as a whole, with all branches of government on the federal level and many state governments engaged in determining policies that may impact voters, though no important changes will likely take place before the general election. 

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