As Senate Republicans push for sweeping changes to how federal elections are held, some members within the party are opposing proposals to crack down on mail-in voting — citing concerns about how it could upend how their own red states operate.
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said he’s “struggling” to support a proposal that would restrict mail-in voting and save that option only for those with illness or disability, or those who are in the military. Doing so could drastically change how Utah conducts its own elections, Curtis argued, leading to unnecessary federal oversight.
“I always try to get to a yes, but I’m really struggling because it does fly directly in the face of the way Utah does things,” Curtis told the Deseret News. “I think at some point there is a place for some national involvement. But this gets pretty close to telling states what they can and can’t do.”
The SAVE America Act as it is currently written does not ban mail-in voting outright. But it does restrict the process by no longer permitting election officials to automatically send ballots to individuals on the voter rolls and instead requiring them to opt in. Those voters must then also prove their citizenship through some form of documentation.
But proposed language to update the bill would seek to end mail-in voting altogether, except for some limited exceptions.
That amendment, led by Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, could get a vote as early as next week. But it would require 60 votes to be considered, a long-shot bid as all Democrats and even a handful of Republicans have opposed the language.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, the lead sponsor of the SAVE America Act itself, told the Deseret News that conversations on Schmitt’s mail-in voting amendment are still ongoing to determine whether to tee it up for a vote.
“It’s not yet certain how that vote will turn out and what negotiations might ensue,” Lee said on Thursday. “But yeah, we’re having a lot of conversations.”
Republicans express concerns about mail-in voting restrictions
Despite being backed by President Donald Trump, there are a handful of Republican senators who have expressed opposition to the proposed mail-in voting restrictions.
Beyond Curtis’ doubt, other senators have outright said they’d vote against the underlying bill with it included.
“While I support strengthening mail-in ballot integrity, many states like Utah, Florida, Alaska and Montana rely on the use of mail-in ballots to conduct their elections, and we should not be completely upending how states already securely conduct their elections,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in a statement.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, similarly told Semafor she “cannot support the burdensome changes in absentee balloting,” even with language carving out exceptions for “hardships.” Those special cases could be determined on a state-by-state basis, but senators such as Curtis say it could still get complicated.
“The fact that Utah sends (ballots) out automatically to everyone, that’s super hard to get around that,” Curtis said. “I think it’s fair to say we’re taking a hard look at it right now and (we’ll) see how things unfold. My preference would be that those provisions would be individual amendments and it may still play out that way, and that would influence my decision too.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also come out against the election bill, noting that while she supports the underlying legislation, she has concerns about its implementation — particularly for people living in rural areas who would need to travel to election offices to provide documentation in order to register.
“In a state like Alaska, where we have huge geography, small numbers of people, 83% of our communities not connected by road — the fact that I’m going to have to go into one of six division election offices around the state of Alaska to present individual documentation,” Murkowski said. “I’ve just spent about two hours this morning going through different aspects of this bill and the implications on what it would mean for an Alaskan who’s just trying to register to vote.”
Local Utah leaders break with Lee on SAVE America Act
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who oversees elections for the Beehive State, broke with Lee on Wednesday when she expressed concerns with how the SAVE America Act could disrupt how the state conducts its elections.
“If we want a federal law mandating voter ID or Documentary Proof of Citizenship, and it’s really not about disenfranchising a bunch of voters, then states and voters need an onramp with time to prepare,” Henderson wrote in a post on X. “That’s not what’s happening with the SAVE America Act. This bill would be effective immediately in the middle of an election year. It would be impossible to implement, on top of all its other problems.”
Lee responded in a separate post, reiterating comments that Utah is “not the problem.” The state’s senior senator argued earlier this week that while Utah has a trustworthy system, that’s not the case nationwide.
“My state is very capable,” Lee told reporters on Wednesday. “Should that amendment pass and the bill as a whole become law with that (provision) in there, I’m confident that Utah can catch up, and other states can do that as well.”
Gov. Spencer Cox expressed support for Lee’s election bill when asked by local media on Thursday, but noted he’d like clarity on what that would mean specifically for Utah when it comes to identification requirements.
“I think that the one thing that I was concerned about was that we couldn’t use our driver’s licenses, even though we do check for not just residency, but citizenship,” Cox said. “There’s only five states where those driver’s licenses could be used. That’s a concern for me, and I’m hoping that’s something that we could fix.”