Sen. John Curtis weighs in on the future of the SAVE America Act

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. John Curtis said he supports federal legislation requiring proof of ID and citizenship to vote, but said even if Congress approved the SAVE America Act when it returns from its August recess, it's too late for the bill to be implemented before the midterms.

The bill has been promoted by Curtis' colleague, Sen. Mike Lee, who urged Congress to work through its planned break this month in order to pass it. The bill includes ID and proof of citizenship requirements, but it would also require states to turn over their complete voter rolls to the federal government.

President Donald Trump and some supporters have also previously suggested provisions on transgender athletes be included in the bill. The president has also expressed support for restricting mail-in ballots.

But Curtis, who represents a state with universal vote-by-mail where the majority of voters cast mail-in ballots, supports a simpler version that just addresses citizenship and voter ID.

"It's a popular issue, and I think the mistake that we've made as Republicans is making it partisan," he told reporters during a wide-ranging conversation at his Salt Lake City office last week. "When you sell a bill by saying, 'If we pass this, we'll never lose an election again,' it makes it hard for me to go get Democrats to support it."

Trump said last month that if the Senate eliminates the filibuster to pass the stalled SAVE America Act, his party "will not lose an election for a hundred years."

Even if Congress does approve some version of the SAVE America Act when senators return from recess, Curtis is skeptical it can be implemented by the November election.

"More and more people feel like that's not going to happen in November," he said.

But whether it can be implemented or not, Curtis suggested the recess could actually spur some movement on the bill, which has been stalled for months.

"We reach a point in Washington, D.C. where we're just all arguing," he said. "Frequently, when we go home, we get in the state, we calm down, we come back and we're able to find a path forward on things that we couldn't do before."

Legal fight over mail-in ballots

Although Trump himself recently voted by mail in his home state of Florida, he has repeatedly railed against the practice, and his administration is still looking for other ways to add requirements around its practice.

The U.S. Postal Service on Friday published a rule saying it would not deliver ballots in states that don't provide the agency with a list of voters. That rule is set to take effect only if a court lifts an injunction that is blocking it.

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Utah's top election official, has been a frequent critic of the administration's efforts to curtail mail-in voting or gain access to state voter rolls.

"This will be an unmitigated disaster if the injunction is lifted," she said of the Postal Service rule in a social media post Saturday. "The Postal Service could not concoct a better way than this to obliterate the last crumbs of confidence the public once had in the institution. Shameful."

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to implement its plan for creating lists of eligible voters in each state in a separate lawsuit, but that and other legal fights over Trump's executive order on mail-in voting are still ongoing.

Henderson noted on social media that the ruling Monday "has no effect on Utah."

"A nationwide injunction against the USPS mail ballot rule stemming from a different lawsuit remains in place for now," she wrote. "We expect an updated ruling in that lawsuit on Wednesday. In the meantime, Attorney General (Derek) Brown and I are in close communication as his office works through all our legal options. I assure all Utah voters that they will be defended. We will run a secure election in accordance with state and federal law."

The Utah Democratic Party criticized the ruling and the Trump administration, saying the rule will create confusion ahead of the election.

"No amount of political spin changes what this is: an attack on the right to vote," the party said in a statement Monday. "Utahns will not be fooled by politicians who manufacture barriers to voting and call it security."

Lee celebrated the ruling and said, "Trump has made a giant leap forward in securing our 2026 elections."

"Congress must still pass the SAVE America Act to secure future elections," he said in a post. "We should've passed it months ago. Thankfully, President Trump is making up for what we haven't done."

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