176 countries require voter ID to cast a ballot. The US isn’t one of them.

The global picture

At least 176 nations and jurisdictions worldwide require some form of identification to vote, according to a dataset compiled by researchers studying global voter ID laws. The United States is not among them at the federal level.

The requirement spans every continent and nearly every style of government. Of the 47 nations in Europe, all but one require a government-issued photo ID to vote. Among the 38 member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 33 require government-issued photo ID at the polls. Africa and Asia have some of the highest rates of strict photo ID requirements, often tied to post-independence efforts to build trustworthy electoral systems from the ground up.

The data does not mean all 176 systems are identical. Requirements range from strict photo ID mandates to more flexible approaches that accept multiple forms of documentation. But the baseline expectation that a voter proves identity before casting a ballot is the international norm, not the exception.

How other democracies do it

The most instructive comparisons come from large, diverse democracies that have implemented universal voter ID without significant controversy.

Mexico issues every citizen over 18 a free Voter Credential card through the National Electoral Institute, known as INE. The card includes a photograph, fingerprint biometrics, and three QR codes containing the holder’s biographical and facial data. It is widely considered the country’s most reliable form of identification and is accepted for banking, travel, and government services beyond elections. The system is uncontroversial in Mexico; voter ID is simply a fact of civic life. Heritage Action, which describes itself as an independent partner organization affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, has pointed to Mexico’s model as evidence that voter ID works and does not suppress turnout.

India, the world’s largest democracy with nearly 970 million eligible voters, issues the Electors’ Photo Identity Card, or EPIC, free of charge through the Election Commission of India. The card is available in both physical and digital formats; citizens can download the e-EPIC to a smartphone at no cost. India also accepts 12 alternative forms of photo ID, including the Aadhaar biometric card, driver’s license, passport, PAN card, and government employment IDs. The system is designed so that no eligible voter lacks a path to identification.

France requires voters in municipalities with more than 1,000 residents to present a national identity card or passport at the polls. The French national ID card, the Carte Nationale d’Identite, is issued free of charge to all citizens.

Germany requires voters to bring their polling notification and, if requested, a government-issued photo ID. Germany issues national identity cards to all citizens.

Norway requires photo identification at the polls: a national ID card, passport, or driver’s license.

Sweden requires a valid identification document to vote in person, whether during early voting or on election day. Accepted documents include passports, driver’s licenses, and ID cards issued by Swedish police.

Switzerland mails ballots to all registered voters. Those who choose to vote in person must present an ID and a state-issued polling card.

Israel requires voter ID and maintains automatic voter registration based on government population records.

Italy requires voters to present both a photo ID and a separate voter card issued by the municipality.

Canada offers three identification options: a single government-issued photo ID with name and address; two pieces of authorized ID where both show the voter’s name and at least one shows the address; or a sworn attestation by another registered voter who can vouch for the person’s identity.

Brazil, where voting is compulsory for citizens ages 18 to 70, requires an official ID card. The government issues voter registration cards free of charge and has been integrating biometric identification into the system since 2006.

The key difference opponents cite

There is an important distinction between the United States and many of the countries listed above: most of those nations issue free, universal national identification to their citizens as a matter of course. France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, India, and Brazil all provide government ID at no cost. The ID card is treated as basic civic infrastructure, something the state provides so that citizens can participate in public life.

The United States does not have a national ID system, and the SAVE Act does not include a provision to create one or to subsidize the cost of obtaining the documents it would require.

This is the gap that opponents of the SAVE Act most frequently cite. The Brennan Center for Justice, which describes itself as “an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization,” estimates that 21.3 million voting-age citizens lack ready access to citizenship documentation, and that 3.8 million have no such documents at all. Birth certificate replacements cost $10 to $30 or more depending on the state. A U.S. passport costs $165 for a first-time applicant.

The National Organization for Women, which describes itself as “the largest organization of feminist grassroots activists in the United States,” has noted that 69 million American women who changed their surnames after marriage hold birth certificates that no longer match their legal names.

When Mexico requires voter ID, it hands every citizen a free card. When India requires voter ID, it accepts 12 alternatives and offers a free digital download. The SAVE Act would require documentary proof of citizenship without a comparable mechanism to ensure every eligible citizen can readily obtain it.

What the SAVE Act would change

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (H.R. 22), sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, passed the House on April 10, 2025, by a vote of 220 to 208. A companion bill, S. 128, was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. An expanded version, the SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296), which adds a photo ID requirement at polling places, passed the House on February 11, 2026, by a vote of 218 to 213.

The bill would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Accepted documents include a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or state ID that indicates citizenship, a valid U.S. passport, a military ID accompanied by proof of U.S. birth, a birth certificate, or a naturalization certificate. The proof must be presented in person at an election office.

The bill would also require states to identify and remove non-citizens from voter rolls, direct federal agencies to share citizenship data within 24 hours upon request, and impose criminal penalties on election officials who knowingly register non-citizens.

Standard REAL ID driver’s licenses, which verify lawful presence but not citizenship, would not satisfy the requirement on their own. Neither would military IDs without supporting birth documentation.

The Bipartisan Policy Center has noted that the bill would effectively end mail-in and online voter registration, since applicants would need to present physical documents in person. In the 2022 election cycle, according to the Campaign Legal Center, which describes itself as “a nonpartisan legal organization dedicated to solving the wide range of challenges facing American democracy.” Approximately 7 million Americans registered to vote by mail and 11 million registered online.

By international standards, the SAVE Act’s documentation requirements are not unusual. What is unusual is that the bill imposes those requirements without the universal free ID infrastructure that makes comparable systems work in other democracies.

The bipartisan polling consensus

Whatever the policy merits, the politics of voter ID are not close. Americans support it by overwhelming margins, across party lines, racial demographics, and age groups.

Gallup’s October 2024 survey found 84% of Americans support requiring photo ID to vote, including 98% of Republicans, 84% of independents, and 67% of Democrats. The same poll found 83% support requiring proof of citizenship to register. Gallup’s trendline shows photo ID support rising from 80% in 2016 to 84% in 2024, with Democratic support rebounding from a low of 53% in 2022 to 67%.

Pew Research Center’s August 2025 survey found 83% support, including 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats. Support was broadly consistent across racial groups: 85% of white respondents, 82% of Hispanic respondents, 77% of Asian respondents, and 76% of Black respondents.

Monmouth University (80%), AP-NORC (72%), and YouGov (75%) have all recorded similar results.

A Center Square/Noble Predictive Insights poll from October 2025 found majority support across every age cohort: 77% of voters 65 and older, 73% of millennials, 70% of Generation X, and 53% of Generation Z.

The breadth of this consensus is unusual in American politics. On an issue where the policy debate remains fierce, the underlying question (should voters prove who they are?) has a settled answer in public opinion. The open question is whether Congress will pair that requirement with the kind of free, universal ID system that makes voter identification work without disenfranchisement in the 176 countries that already require it.

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