This law that would change the way people vote is pivotal in Texas Senate runoff
A federal election law is in the spotlight in Texas and nationally, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made it a key focus of the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate.
Paxton is in a May 26 runoff against incumbent John Cornyn, who is facing his toughest primary yet as he tries to hold onto his statewide seat for a fifth term. Cornyn narrowly came out ahead of Paxton with 41.9% of votes to Paxton’s 40.7%, but since neither candidate won more than half the votes, the contest was sent to a runoff.
Soon after the stage was set, President Donald Trump announced he planned to make an endorsement and said he expects the other Republican candidate to drop out of the race “immediately.” The Atlantic has reported that Cornyn is expected to get the president’s formal support.
Paxton was quick to say he wouldn’t drop out of the race after Trump teased his endorsement in the runoff, but later offered his conditions for an exit.
“I would consider dropping out of this race if Senate Leadership agrees to lift the filibuster and passes the SAVE America Act,” Paxton said in a March 5 social media post.
Since then, Trump has called the legislation his “No. 1 priority.”
Paxton’s politically challenging proposal has put the election legislation and Senate rules that make the bill difficult to pass front-and-center in the race.
Here’s what it does and how it’s factoring into the contentious GOP runoff in Texas.
What is the SAVE America Act, and what does it mean for voters?
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, as passed out of the House on Feb. 11, requires voters to show “documentary proof” of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, such as a passport, a government-issued photo ID showing you were born in the U.S. or a government-issued photo ID accompanied by a birth certificate or citizenship documents.
Voters who have changed their names would need to prove that the name on identifying documents is a past name or submit an affidavit saying as much. Voting rights groups have raised concerns about the proposal creating voting barriers for women who’ve changed their names after marriage and voters who’ve changed their names to align with their gender identity.
The bill also requires voters to show photo ID when casting their ballots in federal elections.
States would be required to send a list of eligible voters to the Department of Homeland Security to identify people who are not citizens for removal from the list. Those identified would be given an opportunity to prove they’re a citizen.
The legislation also outlines processes related to absentee voting and casting provisional ballots when someone doesn’t have a photo ID at the polls.
Other iterations of the legislation have also been filed in the House and Senate, where Cornyn is a co-sponsor.
Trump has said he wants additional policies added to the proposal, versions of which have passed twice in the House. Politico reported that the president on Monday told House Republicans to pass the bill a third time and add in measures to curb mail-in voting and target transgender rights.
Trump is also pressuring Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, to find the votes to pass the bill in the Senate, according to The Hill.
In a Monday post on Truth Social, Trump shared what he wants in the legislation:
“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!
1. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).
2. ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO VOTE.
3. NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!).
4. NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.
5. NO TRANSGENDER MUTILATION SURGERY FOR CHILDREN.”
Why is passing the SAVE America Act an uphill feat in the U.S. Senate?
Thune has said it’s “still unclear” whether the SAVE America Act will become law.
Much of the hang-up in the Senate centers on the filibuster rule, which would require 60 votes to bypass. There are 53 Republicans in the Senate and Thune has said there aren’t enough votes in the Senate to pass the legislation.
Cornyn has been resistant to changing rules around the filibuster until recently. In a Wednesday op-ed in the New York Post, Cornyn said his position around the issue has evolved.
“After careful consideration, I support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary for us to get the SAVE America Act and homeland security funding past the Democrats’ obstruction, through the Senate, and on the president’s desk for his signature,” Cornyn said. “This could be a ‘talking filibuster’ that removes the obstructionists’ free pass and makes them defend their indefensible views on the Senate floor, or it could be a different reform.”
Cornyn and Paxton have sparred over the election legislation and filibuster rule.
Paxton on Wednesday posted on X that “John Cornyn did exactly what I predicted. In one week, I’ve made him more conservative than in the past 24 years.”
“The historic flip-flop’s great and all, but why aren’t you calling out your buddies like McConnell opposing the bill?” Paxton said. “Tell the American people who’s opposing this.”
Cornyn responded: “Just like the rooster crowing thinks he is the reason the sun came up.”
To that Paxton said, “Texas deserves better than someone who only does the right thing when desperately trying to save themself.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 4:09 PM.
