that’s why I proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act.
I will support and advance the SAVE America Act to strengthen voter ID laws.
Occurrences
"I am one of the few members of Congress who has actually passed a voter ID law (on a bipartisan basis), which I did as Speaker of the House in North Carolina, and that’s why I proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act. ... The only real path to address the American people’s declining confidence in our elections is for both parties to find common ground on legislation that supports universal adoption of voter ID, proof of citizenship, and other vital election integrity measures."
"I am one of the few members of Congress who has actually passed a voter ID law (on a bipartisan basis), which I did as Speaker of the House in North Carolina, and that’s why I proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act... The only real path to address the American people’s declining confidence in our elections is for both parties to find common ground on legislation that supports universal adoption of voter ID, proof of citizenship, and other vital election integrity measures."
that’s why I proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act.
Senator Thom Tillis recently co-sponsored the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, legislation requiring individuals to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections.
that’s why I proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act . 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.
Evidence
Senator Thom Tillis issued a statement on the SAVE America Act, expressing his support for strengthening mail-in ballot integrity but highlighting concerns about the bill's impact on states that rely on mail-in ballots. He noted that the act would not have the 60 votes required to pass and criticized the 'talking filibuster' as an ineffective strategy.
Senator Thom Tillis called the debate over the SAVE America Act a 'waste of time,' labeling the Republican push as 'unstrategic' and 'lazy.' He argued that the bill lacks the necessary votes to pass and urged colleagues to focus on legislation with a realistic chance of becoming law.
In a video interview, Senator Thom Tillis stated that the SAVE Act is 'not ready for prime time' and does not adequately address absentee ballot voting. He emphasized his support for voter ID laws but criticized the current form of the bill.
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (Introduced 01/29/2026). Latest Action: 01/29/2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. The bill has the status Introduced.
"I proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act." ... "While I support strengthening mail-in ballot integrity... the SAVE America Act still will not have the 60 votes required to pass it." ... "I have made it crystal clear that I will never vote to do this."
Sponsor: Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21] (Introduced 01/30/2026). Latest Action: 01/30/2026 Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. The bill has the status Introduced.
Mr. Lee (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Graham, Mr. Tuberville, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Risch, and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
At 6:40 p.m. on June 4, 2026, the Senate "did not agree to the motion to waive the Budget Act with respect to the Graham Amendment #5779 in relation to the SAVE Act of 2026." The page says GOP Senators Collins, McConnell, Murkowski, and Tillis voted no.
On June 4, 2026, the Senate voted on a motion to waive budget discipline for Graham Amendment No. 5779, whose purpose was to ensure only citizens are registered to vote in federal elections and require voters to provide photo identification. The motion was rejected, 48 yeas to 50 nays, and Tillis (R-NC) voted Nay.
On June 5, 2026, the Senate voted on a motion to waive budget discipline for Lee Amendment No. 5804, whose purpose was to ensure only citizens are registered to vote in federal elections and require voters to provide photo identification. The motion was rejected despite 50 yeas to 49 nays because three-fifths was required; Tillis (R-NC) voted Nay.
Congress.gov lists S.3752, the SAVE America Act, as sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee and introduced on January 29, 2026. Its latest action is: read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. The tracker status is Introduced, with one listed action.
Congress.gov reports 47 current cosponsors for S.3752, all Republican, and the cosponsor list includes only one North Carolina cosponsor: Sen. Ted Budd, added January 29, 2026. Tillis is not listed among the S.3752 cosponsors.
Tillis said he proudly co-sponsored the SAVE Act and supported strengthening mail-in ballot integrity, but said the SAVE America Act still would not have the 60 votes required to pass. He also said he would never vote to substantially weaken or eliminate the filibuster to pass it.
For the earlier S.128 SAVE Act, Congress.gov lists Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] as an original cosponsor on January 16, 2025.
Assessments
The promised outcome was to support and advance the SAVE America Act specifically. The bill remained only introduced/referred, Tillis was not listed as a cosponsor of S.3752, and he publicly criticized the bill's strategy and feasibility. Most importantly, he voted against procedural motions tied to SAVE America Act-style proof-of-citizenship/photo-ID amendments in June 2026. Although he cosponsored an earlier related SAVE Act, that does not fulfill the later promise to support and advance the SAVE America Act itself, and his later actions cut against delivery.
Tillis did not fulfill the specific promise to support and advance the SAVE America Act. The record shows he co-sponsored a prior related SAVE Act, but for the SAVE America Act he publicly said it lacked the votes, criticized the bill, and on June 4, 2026 voted against waiving the Budget Act to move it forward. That is opposition or blockage, not advancement of the promised bill.
The promised outcome was to support and advance the SAVE America Act to strengthen voter ID laws. The SAVE America Act in the 119th Congress was only introduced and referred to committee, with no passage or enacted voter-ID change. Tillis did take some concrete related action by co-sponsoring the earlier SAVE Act and publicly supporting stronger voter ID and ballot-integrity rules, but he later opposed advancing the SAVE America Act procedurally, said it lacked the votes to pass, and criticized the push as unstrategic. That amounts to a serious but unsuccessful related effort, not delivery of the promised bill or policy outcome.
Although Senator Tillis voiced generic support for voter ID laws, he repeatedly criticized the specific SAVE America Act, called legislative efforts surrounding it a waste of time, and did not support or advance the bill as promised. There is no evidence of any substantial effort to deliver on this particular campaign promise.
Multiple pieces of evidence establish that Senator Thom Tillis publicly criticized the SAVE America Act, referring to it as unstrategic, not ready for prime time, and not likely to pass. Although he supports the general concept of stronger voter ID laws, he did not support or advance the specific legislation (the SAVE America Act) as promised. No substantive legislative or executive attempt to deliver this exact promise was made.
Multiple pieces of evidence show that although Senator Tillis expressed general support for voter ID laws, he openly criticized the SAVE America Act specifically, calling it 'not ready', 'unstrategic', and a 'waste of time'. He did not support or advance the bill as promised, and there is no evidence of a serious legislative or executive attempt to fulfill this specific pledge.