‘Absurd’: Vance says America still doesn’t have nationwide voter ID as he pushes for key policy

WASHINGTON, DC: Hours after the Senate officially adjourned on Saturday, August 8, without clearing the SAVE Act, Vice President JD Vance expressed concern over America still not having voter IDs.

While the Senate narrowly cleared Trump’s pick, Todd Blanche’s AG nomination, it went for a five-week August recess without clearing the SAVE Act, despite Trump asking the majority leader to cancel recess to get the resolution passed in the upper house.

Vance voter ID under Save Act is administration’s priority

Vice President JD Vance appeared in an interview on Fox News on Saturday, August 8, 2026. He spoke on the program ‘Saturday in America’ about several issues, including the biggest democracy running without Voter IDs.

"The president's priority right now is to get the SAVE America Act passed."

VP Vance told the host that President Trump is putting election legislation front and centre, arguing it's "absurd" that the US does not require voter ID nationwide.

"We're the most advanced democracy in the entire world, and yet we don't have voter ID. That really has to change,” Vance said during the appearance.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act or SAVE America Act, aims to make it mandatory for voters in America to prove their citizenship before registering for the voter list. It also mandates a photo ID at the polling station for in-person voting in federal elections.

The bill was introduced amid unsubstantiated claims that there was significant election fraud in previous elections, including voting by undocumented immigrants, as part of the immigration policies of the second Donald Trump administration.

Vance says US remains in ‘middle of game’ in Iran

Elsewhere in the same interview, Vice President JD Vance said the United States remains "in the middle of the game" in its standoff with Iran, even as reports suggest senior military officials are looking for ways to prevent the conflict from expanding further.

His remarks came a day after CNN reported that Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Dan Caine had been seeking an off-ramp as the conflict continued.

"I try to remind people that we're really in the middle of the game here," he said.

"This thing is not over. It's obviously not at the beginning. We're in the middle of the game, and we're applying a whole host of tools- diplomatic, economic, military tools- to ensure that we get the best outcome for the American people."