Senate approves bill using SAVE to verify voter citizenship; amendment adopted, vote 34–13

The senate passed Senate File 22-03, a bill directing the secretary of state to verify the U.S. citizenship of registered voters using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. The bill requires the secretary to notify county commissioners of verification results, directs county commissioners to notify registrants designated as "unconfirmed," and provides a 90-day window for those registrants to provide proof of citizenship before cancellation.

An amendment (Senate amendment 50 32) was adopted to give the secretary of state's office authority to adopt rules necessary to implement and administer the verification process. Senator Rosenboom, sponsor of the bill, said the measure is part of ongoing efforts to "clean up the voter registration files." He told the senate the data he had showed that 277 noncitizens were registered to vote in Iowa, 35 of whom voted in 2024, and that five attempted to vote but were unsuccessful; he said those instances were referred for investigation.

Opponents said embedding SAVE into statute risks erroneous purges and disenfranchisement because SAVE can contain incomplete or outdated records. Sen. Tron Garriott criticized the secretary of state's 2023 decision to exit ERIC and recounted incidents where SAVE flagged naturalized citizens and absentee ballots were at risk of being discarded without voters being notified. "This bill is not a fix," Sen. Garriott said, urging senators not to adopt a measure he characterized as a distraction from other policy priorities.

The senate approved the amended bill on a roll-call vote of 34 ayes to 13 nays. The sponsor said statutory safeguards and notices to registrants would provide opportunities to cure errors; opponents urged caution and pointed to past litigation over improperly targeted naturalized citizens.

The senate ordered the bill messaged following passage.