BILLINGS — President Trump has announced that passage of the SAVE America Act is his top legislative priority. The bill would require voters to provide proof of citizenship and a photo ID at the polls.
"We don't have a country, if we're going to have elections, that are so corrupt and so dishonest," President Donald Trump said.
While many questions remain on the bill, its passage could impact election offices across Montana.
Watch Yellowstone County election administrator talk about the SAVE America Act:
Montana election administrators, including Dayna Causby of Yellowstone County, are closely monitoring the debate. Causby and her colleagues would be responsible for implementing any new requirements, which could be challenging with primaries fast approaching.
"We are awaiting guidance if it does pass from the Secretary of State's office," Causby said Wednesday. "I don’t know if they could implement that before the primary or if the law would allow them to implement it even before the general election in a federal year."
Trump maintains the legislation is common sense.
"Who would not have voter ID? Who would not have proof of citizenship?" Trump said.
Lee Banville, a political analyst at the University of Montana, says the measure strengthens election integrity.
"There’s this argument for the integrity of elections, because we want only the people who are supposed to vote to vote," Banville said.
He says the bill could make voting more difficult.
"As soon as you make it harder to vote, fewer people vote," Banville said.
Banville said the debate is fueled by misconceptions.
"We just haven’t seen significant numbers of people cast ballots that they shouldn’t have," Banville said.
There is caution that the law could impact elections not only this year, but for years to come.
"It’s just going to require a lot more documentation, a lot more work for you to cast that ballot," Banville said.
Causby said there are questions that remain.
"Number one, if it is going to pass. Number two, if it’s going to pass in its current state. And number three, if parts of it do pass, how will that affect implementation and which elections it would impact?" Causby said.
