WATCH: Once Again, Padilla Leads Democrats in Successfully Killing Trump’s Anti-Voter SAVE Act

As families across the country face skyrocketing costs, Trump and Senate Republicans again prioritize his voter suppression bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, led his Senate colleagues in once again defeating MAGA Republicans' efforts to advance the anti-voter SAVE Act. Padilla took to the Senate floor in opposition of Senator Jon Husted's (R-Ohio) MAGA voter ID bill, S. 5271, which consists of a provision of the SAVE Act that would require eligible voters to provide strict photo identification when voting, including in their mail and absentee ballots.

The Senate failed to advance S. 5271 by a vote of 52 to 46, with 60 votes required to pass the bill.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Padilla highlighted President Trump's continued fixation on passing the SAVE Act ahead of the 2026 midterm elections instead of prioritizing everyday issues facing Americans right now, such as lowering costs and providing affordable health care. Padilla emphasized that the MAGA voter ID bill is stricter than all 50 states' laws, and American elections are safe and secure without restrictive photo ID requirements. He expressed concern that Husted's bill and the SAVE Act would disenfranchise millions of voters by imposing new requirements and complicating absentee and mail-in voting, representing a deliberate attempt to sow chaos less than 90 days from Election Day.

"Here we are, after months and months of debating this bill. We should be debating how to bring costs down for working families across the country. I'd love to hear from my colleagues how we're going to get out of this war in Iran. Instead, here's this measure again, which is not a simple voter ID bill," said Padilla. "As written, this bill is stricter than most voter ID in states that already have a voter ID law in place. This goes further, requiring voters to include a copy of their ID when they vote by mail. Tens of millions of Americans vote by mail; this bill would do away with secret ballots as we know it."

Video of Padilla's remarks is available here.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, which has oversight over federal elections, Padilla has led the charge opposing Trump's overreaching anti-voter SAVE Act. In June, Padilla led his Senate Democratic colleagues in defeating Republicans' efforts to include the SAVE Act in their anti-immigrant reconciliation bill twice in one night. During the failed March 2026 "talking filibuster" attempt, Padilla took to the Senate floor four times as a leader in the Democratic opposition to the SAVE Act.

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