Special Edition: The Voting Bill Dividing Congress
The NewsWorthy
Erica Mandy
4.7 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 21 March 2026
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As Congress debates the SAVE America Act (a major election bill that could change how Americans register and vote), we break down what's actually in it, and what it could mean in this major election year.
Supporters say it's about strengthening election security. Critics argue it could create new barriers for millions of eligible voters.
In this episode, Wren Orey, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Elections Project, explains the key provisions, the data about non-citizen voting, and why many local officials are warning about making major changes right now.
Learn more about our guest(s): https://www.theNewsWorthy.com/shownotes
Join us again for our 10-minute daily news roundups every Mon-Fri!
Become an INSIDER and get ad-free episodes here: https://www.theNewsWorthy.com/insider
Get The NewsWorthy MERCH here: https://www.theNewsWorthy.com/merch
Sponsors:
Blueland has a special offer! Get 15% off your first order by going to Blueland.com/NEWSWORTHY
For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% OFF and free shipping for your first box PLUS free dessert for life! Go to HomeChef.com/NEWSWORTHY
To advertise on our podcast, please email: ad-sales@libsyn.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Today is Saturday, March 21st. A major election bill could change how Americans must register and vote all |
| 0:06.1 | across the country. It's called the Save America Act. Save stands for safeguard American voter |
| 0:11.1 | eligibility. The House already gave it the go-ahead last month, and the Senate has started debating |
| 0:15.6 | it just this week. President Trump insists it must pass through Congress before he's willing to |
| 0:20.6 | sign any other laws, saying it's needed to prevent fraud and protect elections, while Democrats and voting rights groups say it could prevent millions of Americans from having their voices heard. |
| 0:30.1 | So should proof of citizenship and a photo ID be required for voting like you might need for a job or travel? |
| 0:36.6 | Or since voting is a constitutional right, |
| 0:39.3 | is it too much of a burden for American citizens? |
| 0:42.0 | Today's guest is Ren Ori, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's elections project. |
| 0:46.7 | They explain what the Save America Act would actually do and require, |
| 0:50.1 | what the data shows about non-citizen voting and why many election officials are warning about |
| 0:55.1 | implementing major changes during a major election year. |
| 0:59.6 | Welcome to the Newsworthy special edition Saturday, when we sit down with a different expert or |
| 1:04.0 | celebrity every Saturday to talk about something in the news. |
| 1:06.9 | Don't forget to tune in every Monday through Friday for our regular episodes where we provide all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. |
| 1:13.7 | I'm Erica Mandy. It's now time for today's special edition Saturday. |
| 1:19.5 | Ren Ori, thank you so much for joining us here on The Newsworthy. |
| 1:22.8 | Thanks for having me. So let's just start by getting really clear on what the Save America Act is. There have been |
| 1:29.5 | multiple versions out there, so I think people can get confused about what the current bill includes. |
| 1:35.1 | So if you could walk us through the version the House has already passed and some of the key |
| 1:40.2 | requirements. That's a great question. The Save Act has been around in some form since about |
| 1:45.7 | May of 2024, and the current version called the Save America Act was passed by the House in February. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Erica Mandy, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Erica Mandy and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.