Kennedy forces SAVE Act vote during late-night reconciliation bill debate

Watch Kennedy's comments here.

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) last night defended commonsense election integrity policies and forced a vote on inserting key parts of the SAVE Act into a Senate Republican plan to re-open the Department of Homeland Security. The final vote was 48-50. It was a close vote but a heartbreaking loss.

Kennedy's amendment would direct the Senate Rules Committee to include in the reconciliation bill:

• A photo identification (ID) requirement to register American citizens to vote in American elections.

• A requirement to display a photo ID before voting in American elections.

• A policy ordering that all votes in federal elections be counted within 36 hours of election day.

While Kennedy's proposal won widespread support among Senate Republicans, it did not receive the votes required to amend the reconciliation package blueprint.

Key excerpts of Kennedy's remarks are below.

"One of the things I . . . said I wanted to try to do in reconciliation was the SAVE Act. Here's what I want to do, and I'm willing for all of us to put our heads together and figure out how to do it.

"The American people no longer have confidence in our elections. You can debate whether that's justified or not, but it's just a natural fact. I think that we can restore confidence in our federal elections if we do three things.

"If we come up with a way to make sure everybody who is registered to vote is an American citizen, I think we can restore confidence in our elections, [and] if, number two, we passed a rule for federal elections that says 'You have to prove you are who you say you are in order to vote.' And, number three, I would like to see us-I consider this part of the SAVE America Act, but it's not traditionally part-I think we ought to go back to having an election day and not an election month.

"I know some votes come in late. I get that. We're smart enough to figure out a way to accommodate that-but this election month stuff is just undermining the people's confidence, both Democrats [and] Republicans, and independents.

"That's what I mean when I say the SAVE Act. And I said, 'I'm going to try to put the SAVE Act on the reconciliation bill,' and I'm going to keep my word. Where I come from, your word is your bond."

Kennedy is a longtime supporter and cosponsor of both the SAVE Act and SAVE America Act.

In March 2026, Kennedy delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor explaining his endorsement of the SAVE America Act and his reconciliation strategy.

"If this bill is as important as we say it is, we should try it through reconciliation," said Kennedy.

Watch Kennedy's effort to pass key SAVE Act priorities via the reconciliation process here.