Former President Donald Trump publicly denounced a recent Supreme Court decision that permits mail-in ballots arriving up to five days after Election Day to be counted. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump characterized the ruling in Watson v. RNC as a "tremendous loss" for voter rights and asserted that Congress must immediately counteract it by passing the SAVE America Act.
The SAVE America Act, championed in the House by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and in the Senate by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, proposes nationwide voter identification requirements and aims to restrict no-excuse mail-in balloting. Trump stated that there is "no excuse" for any politician to oppose the bill's core tenets: voter ID, proof of citizenship, and the distribution of mail-in ballots only to military personnel, the sick, disabled, or those traveling on Election Day. He attributed opposition to a desire for "cheating."
The Supreme Court's decision, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett writing for the majority, indicated that Election Day is the statutorily required date for a vote to be submitted, but election statutes do not necessarily set a deadline for ballot receipt. This stance countered arguments made by Republicans in the case, including some justices appointed by Trump.
Trump specifically called out several Republican senators—Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell—along with all Democrats, for opposing the SAVE Act, framing their stance as a threat to the country.
However, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana responded to Trump's statement, indicating that he is a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act and that the former president may have been misinformed. Cassidy added that it is "irresponsible" to delay a housing bill signing until the SAVE Act passes, citing the need for housing relief.
Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, expressed openness to a simplified version of the bill that would solely require photo ID for voting, cautioning against including too many provisions and attacking vote-by-mail. He stated, "If the GOP wants real reform over a show vote––put out a clean, standalone bill and I’m AYE."
If the Senate were to adopt the SAVE Act as passed by the House, it could potentially nullify or significantly alter aspects of the Supreme Court's Watson decision. Calls for the SAVE America Act's passage had intensified in the weeks preceding the ruling, with critics pointing to ballot tabulation processes in California as examples of perceived issues with mail-in voting.