Susan Collins voted for the SAVE Act and sought to establish a federal voter ID standard. Collins praised the SAVE Act as “a simple reform” and fundraised off her support for Trump’s voter ID bill. Mainers fumed over the Collins-backed SAVE Act after they rejected voter ID standards in a 2025 ballot referendum.
Message: Collins backed Trump’s voter restriction bill after Mainers rejected the same voting reforms.
2026: Collins Effectively Voted For The Senate Version Of The SAVE Act That Would Require Proof Of Citizenship When Registering To Vote And Display Of Photo Identification When Voting. In March 2026, Collins voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, the “motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Husted, R-Ohio, amendment no. 4732 to substitute amendment no. 4420 to the billl that would require Americans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote and present photo identification when casting a ballot.” The vote was on cloture. The Senate rejected the motion by a vote of 53 to 47. [Senate Vote 73, 3/26/26; Congressional Quarterly, 3/26/26; Congressional Actions, S.Amdt.4732; Congressional Actions, S.1383]
2026: Collins Effectively Voted For The Senate Version Of The SAVE Act That Would Require Proof Of Citizenship When Registering To Vote And Display Of Photo Identification When Voting. In March 2026, Collins voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, the “motion to lay before the Senate the House message to accompany the bill that would require Americans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote and present photo identification when casting a ballot.” The vote was on the motion to proceed. The Senate agreed to the motion by a vote of 51 to 48. [Senate Vote 57, 3/17/26; Congressional Quarterly, 3/17/26; Congressional Actions, S.1383]
Maine Public: Susan Collins Backs GOP's Strict Voting Bill Driven By Trump's Fraud Claims [Maine Public, 2/17/26]
Susan Collins Supported The SAVE Act, Which Required That States Turn Over Their Voting Rolls To The Department Of Homeland Security. According to Maine Public, “Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins says she'll back a strict voter identification bill that would require a photo ID at the polls, proof of citizenship to register and require states to regularly turn over voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security. The proposal recently cleared the GOP-controlled House despite near unanimous opposition from Democrats, including Maine Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree. Golden had supported a previous version of the bill, but he and three other centrist Democrats opposed the measure that cleared the House last week, 218-213. The amended version includes a requirement that states turn over their voting rolls to the Department of Homeland Security to check for noncitizen voters, an extremely small number according to voting rights advocates on the left and right. Noncitizens are already barred from voting in federal elections. In a statement, Collins said the photo ID requirement makes sense and that her support came after the bill was amended to remove a requirement that voters prove their citizenship at the polls — not just at registration. ‘The law is clear that in this country only American citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections,’ she said. ‘In addition, having people provide an ID at the polls, just as they have to do before boarding an airplane, checking into a hotel, or buying an alcoholic beverage, is a simple reform that will improve the security of our federal elections and will help give people more confidence in the results.’” [Maine Public, 2/17/26]
Collins Called The SAVE Act A “Simple Reform” To Election LawAnd Believed It Would “Improve The Security Of Our Elections And Will Help Give People More Confidence In The Results.” According to the Maine Wire, “In an exclusive comment to The Maine Wire, Sen. Collins said she supports the current version of the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in U.S. elections. Collins said she will support the version of the SAVE Act that has now cleared the House, calling it a ‘simple reform’ aimed at strengthening confidence in federal elections. ‘The law is clear that in this country only American citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections. In addition, having people provide an ID at the polls, just as they have to do before boarding an airplane, checking into a hotel, or buying an alcoholic beverage, is a simple reform that will improve the security of our federal elections and will help give people more confidence in the results,’ she said.” [Maine Wire, 2/13/26]
Collins, In A Fundraising Email, Touted Her Plan To “Vote For The SAVE America Act” Despite Mainers’ Rejection Of Voter ID Standards In A 2025 Referendum. According to American journal news, “Last year, Maine voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum that would’ve required photo ID at the polls. Now, Sen. Susan Collins is supporting a Trump-backed bill that would impose the restriction anyway. Collins said in a fundraising email this month that she supports the SAVE Act, a bill that would require voters nationwide to present a photo ID before casting a ballot. It would also eliminate most forms of mail-in voting and require people to provide proof of citizenship when registering, such as a passport, birth certificate, or military ID. ‘I announced that I will vote for the SAVE America Act because the law and the Constitution are clear: Citizens of other countries should not be voting in American elections,’ the email said.” [American Journal News, 2/23/26]
Bangor Daily News Editorial: SAVE Act Supported By Susan Collins Was “Unnecessary Federal Legislation That Would Restrict Voting Rights” After Maine Overwhelmingly Rejected Photo ID In A 2025 Ballot Referendum. According to a Bangor Daily News editorial, “Last year, Maine voters resoundingly defeated a referendum that sought to restrict absentee voting and require voter ID. Voters across the state saw through the false claims that voter fraud is a problem in Maine and rejected restrictions that would have made it harder for many Mainers to cast a ballot. Yet, two members of Maine’s congressional delegation support unnecessary federal legislation that would restrict voting rights. The SAVE America Act, and its precursor the SAVE Act, have been sold as a way to prevent non-citizens from voting in U.S. elections. It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal and state elections. That hasn’t stopped Republican-led efforts to restrict voting based on false claims of widespread fraudulent voting. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a version of which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week, would set up burdensome and unnecessary new requirements for voter registration and voter identification on Election Day, and require that they be put in place by this November’s election. Sen. Susan Collins says she backs the bill, which is currently before the U.S. Senate. 2nd District Rep. Jared Golden has voted for previous versions of the SAVE Act in the U.S. House to restrict non-citizen voter registration but opposed the new bill because it includes photo ID requirements for voting.” [Editorial – Bangor Daily News, 2/18/26]
Portland Press Herald Editorial: Susan Collins’ Support Of The SAVE Act Was A “Particularly Defiant Display Of Loyalty” To Trump Filled With “Burdensome” Requirements Already Rejected By Maine’s Question 1 Ballot Initiative. According to a Portland Press Herald editorial, “Listening to the president attempt to inject a sense of fear and suspicion Tuesday by saying that ‘they’ (Democrats) are only concerned with ‘cheating’ (‘They cheat.’), it would be challenging for any of us to separate the drive to push this legislation through from mounting Republican anxiety about the outcome of the 2026 midterms. Due to the burdensome nature of its requirements, even the most wishful Republican supporter of SAVE must understand the high administrative unlikelihood of its being anywhere near implemented by that time. That hasn’t stopped almost every one of that party’s senators from lending their support to the bill, including Sen. Susan Collins, who surely heard about the comprehensive defeat of Question 1 in Maine last fall and can understand the message of jaded dissatisfaction that result was intended to send. This makes Collins’ support of SAVE a particularly defiant display of loyalty to the president — if not a complacent one. It doesn’t make remote sense to us. Does it make sense to you?” [Editorial – Portland Press Herald, 3/1/26]