H.R. 22 — SAVE Act

This section amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) to define "documentary proof of United States citizenship" (e.g., REAL ID indicating citizenship, U.S. passport, military ID with U.S. birth record, government photo ID showing U.S. birth, or other photo ID with certified birth certificate or equivalent) and to require states to reject federal voter registration applications lacking such proof under all methods, including at motor vehicle offices (subject to new section 8(j) requirements), via the national mail form (also subject to section 8(j), with chief state election official required to publicize the proof mandate), and other processes. (Thus, states must verify citizenship for federal elections using specified documents, overriding prior self-attestation.)

This section directs the Election Assistance Commission to adopt and transmit to the chief state election official of each state, not later than 10 days after enactment, guidance on implementing the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (i.e., the "motor voter" law), as amended by section 2.

This section makes Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44—commonly known as the Paperwork Reduction Act—inapplicable to the development or modification of voter registration materials under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), as amended by section 2, including voter registration application forms. (Thus, such activities are exempt from federal requirements for Office of Management and Budget review and approval of information collection burdens.)

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, upon receiving information that an individual has become a naturalized U.S. citizen, to promptly notify the chief election official of the state in which the individual is domiciled.

This section provides a rule of construction stating that nothing in this Act or its amendments supersedes, restricts, or otherwise affects an individual's ability to cast a provisional ballot in a federal election or have that ballot counted if the individual is verified as a U.S. citizen under section 8(j) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (as added by section 2(f)).

This section provides a rule of construction clarifying that nothing in this Act affects any state's exemption from requirements of federal laws other than the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.).

This section sets the effective date of the Act and its amendments as the date of enactment, with applicability to voter registration applications submitted on or after that date.