Republicans pass largely symbolic US voter ID bill

WASHINGTON: The Republican-led US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would add proof-of-citizenship requirements to voter registration, in a vote designed to mobilise supporters concerned about election security that has little chance of becoming law.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act is backed by President Donald Trump, who dominates the House Republicans and continues to claim falsely that he was cheated by voter fraud in the 2020 election.

“This bill is very, very simple. It ensures that only American citizens can vote in our federal elections. It isn´t hard,” said Florida Republican Kat Cammack ahead of the bill´s passage. “Eighty-seven percent of Americans believe only Americans should vote in our elections.”

But it has little hope of making it through the Senate, where the 60-vote threshold for passing legislation means the 53-47 Republican majority requires cooperation from the opposition.