Contributor: GOP voting bill prepares to subvert elections, not protect them

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While President Trump is busy working through his checklist for sabotaging the midterm elections, Republicans are already concocting the political equivalent of a shady insurance policy — the kind someone takes out the day before the house catches fire.

I’ll save you some time and explain that the drubbing Republicans are about to endure* won’t be the result of Trump or his policies*. Instead, it will be because the midterm elections were rigged for the Democrats. Or at least these claims are the GOP spin that’s already in progress.

The predicate is being laid. “They want illegals to vote,” House Speaker Mike Johnson recently declared. “That’s why they opened the border wide for four years under Biden and Harris and allowed in all these dangerous people. It was a means to an end. The end is maintaining their own power,” Johnson continued.

To prevent this, Republicans have invented a MacGuffin: the SAVE America Act — a plot device Republicans have introduced primarily to drive the story forward.

That’s not to say the legislation would be meaningless. The SAVE America act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, eliminate mail-only registrations, mandate photo ID nationwide and force states to send voter lists to the Department of Homeland Security.

Some of these things (like requiring voter ID) are popular and even arguably salutary. But in light of recent events — say, Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results — any effort by Trump to nationalize or otherwise meddle in our election process should be met with immediate alarm.

Still, it is highly unlikely that any of these new tools would actually stem the tide of the rising blue wave that is poised to devour Republicans this November.

The notion that any substantial number of undocumented immigrants is voting is a farce. There are

by anyone, and the examples that do surface often

scant few examples of election fraud.

involve RepublicansAnd to the degree there would be impediments to voter registration (there is worry that women who changed their names after getting married would be disenfranchised), the electoral results of making it harder to register to vote would largely affect

futureelections after this year — and these provisions wouldn’t solely hurt Democratic voters.

Regardless, this is all likely a moot point. Despite passing the House, it’s hard to imagine this bill can garner the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the Senate (and it doesn’t seem likely there’d be enough votes to nuke the filibuster).

This raises an interesting question: Why invest so much time and energy in a bill that seems destined to fail — and that, even if it did pass, would likely not alter even the closest of November’s midterm elections?

Because the bill isn’t really about passing policy. It’s about narrative control.

The SAVE America Act serves three strategic purposes for Republicans:

*It’s a comforting but false diagnosis for the midterms. *Let’s face it: Trump isn’t going to admit that his policies have backfired or that his approval ratings are in the tank, and Republicans aren’t about to lay that at his feet. As Trump declared in 2020 (before a single vote was cast), “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged.” Trumpism cannot fail; it can only

befailed.

*Base mobilization through grievance. *Just as caravans of migrants always seem to miraculously appear just before an election, threats of election rigging at least give Republicans something to scare Fox News voters about — a way to motivate via fear and outrage in an otherwise moribund midterm electorate.

*Blame insurance. *Despite being the establishment and controlling the entire federal government, Trump still gets to cast himself as the victim. And it won’t just be Democrats who get blamed for a midterm loss; there will also be a “stabbed in the back” excuse.

Scott Presler, a prominent right-wing activist championing this bill on Fox News, has already declared that unless the SAVE America Act passes, Republicans will lose both chambers of Congress. In a veiled threat to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), he recently asked, “Do you want to be remembered as the Senate Majority Leader that was responsible for ushering in the decline of the United States?”

They’re clearly playing a game, but is this game good for Republicans?

While it might seem shrewd to construct a boogeyman, Republicans risk eliminating the feedback loop on which healthy political parties rely.

When losses are blamed on cheating rather than voter sentiment, there’s no incentive to change your behavior, your policies or your candidates. So a party that voters have rejected will keep repeating the same dumb things, all while voters scratch their heads and wonder why they still haven’t gotten to the promised land.

Republicans might well reflect on Trump’s Republican Party as a party that had “learned nothing and forgotten nothing.”

And a party that cannot learn or adapt is a party that shouldn’t count on winning many elections in the future.

Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”

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Ideas expressed in the piece

The SAVE America Act functions primarily as a narrative device rather than substantive election security policy, designed to provide Republicans with a ready-made explanation for anticipated midterm losses

. The legislation serves as what the author describes as “blame insurance,” allowing the party to attribute electoral defeats to Democratic election rigging rather than to voter rejection of Republican policies[1]. The bill’s real purpose is narrative control—establishing a false diagnosis that frames potential losses as resulting from fraudulent voting rather than from flawed leadership or policies[1].[1]Noncitizen voting is exceptionally rare and does not pose a meaningful threat to election integrity, making the claimed need for the legislation unfounded

. The author contends that examples of election fraud are scant, and those that do surface often involve Republicans rather than Democratic operatives[1]. The predicate for the legislation is being manufactured through rhetoric, such as assertions that Democrats “opened the border” to enable illegal voting, despite a lack of evidence supporting this claim[1].[1]The SAVE America Act is unlikely to become law because it cannot achieve the 60 votes necessary to pass the Senate, making the Republican focus on passing it strategically questionable

. This raises questions about why substantial legislative energy is being devoted to a bill that seems destined to fail and, even if enacted, would likely not influence the midterm elections[1].[1]The legislation serves a base mobilization function rooted in grievance and fear rather than genuine problem-solving

. By constructing election fraud as an existential threat, Republicans can activate their electoral base through outrage, as exemplified by prominent right-wing figures warning of catastrophic consequences if the bill does not pass[1].[1]A political party that attributes losses to external cheating rather than voter sentiment undermines its own capacity for growth and adaptation

. Without feedback mechanisms that tie electoral outcomes to policy failures or leadership shortcomings, Republicans risk perpetuating ineffective strategies while voters remain confused about why promised changes never materialize[1].[1]

Different views on the topic

Election security and the integrity of voter registration represent legitimate concerns that warrant legislative action

. Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and some instances of noncitizen registration and voting attempts have occurred in states including Texas and New Jersey, suggesting the need for enhanced verification mechanisms[2][2].[3]Photo identification requirements for voting enjoy substantial bipartisan public support, with polling data showing that 83 percent of Americans support requiring a photo ID to vote, including majorities among Democrats, Hispanic Americans, and Black Americans

. This broad support suggests the legislation addresses voter preferences rather than serving purely partisan ends[2].[2]Proof of citizenship requirements are a reasonable and straightforward safeguard to ensure that only eligible citizens participate in federal elections

[3]. Currently, individuals registering to vote need only attest under penalty of perjury that they are citizens, and strengthening this requirement through documentation represents a logical procedural improvement[4][1].[3]The measure responds to concerns about noncitizen voting that have surfaced in recent years

. Advocates argue that with approximately 10 million individuals having entered the country during a period of relaxed border enforcement, verification mechanisms are prudent precautions to protect election integrity[2].[2]Both parties acknowledge that only eligible citizens should be permitted to vote, though they disagree on implementation methods

. Some election security advocates note that while the goal of citizenship verification is shared, alternative approaches might achieve this aim more cost-effectively without creating unintended barriers for eligible voters[5].[5]