Trump administration says states must meet election-security requirements or risk losing federal funding under proposed SAVE America Act

The Trump administration is pressing lawmakers to advance the proposed SAVE America Act, arguing that states should take specific election-security measures in order to continue receiving federal election funding, New York Post Politics reported July 17.

According to the report, the administration’s approach centers on using federal grant dollars as leverage to improve election administration practices at the state level. The proposal would require states to demonstrate they are meeting election security standards as a condition for funding.

New York Post Politics said the administration is tying the funding question to a set of election integrity steps. Those steps include ensuring that voting machines and related election infrastructure are secure, as well as maintaining voter registration records that reflect who is legally eligible to vote.

The report also said the administration would require states to scrub voter rolls to remove categories of registrants considered ineligible to vote. New York Post Politics specifically cited removal of noncitizens, deceased individuals, and other people identified as ineligible under law, describing those items as part of the SAVE America Act framework.

The administration’s public rationale, as described by New York Post Politics, is that states have primary responsibility for administering elections but should meet baseline security expectations to protect the integrity of the process and the accuracy of voter lists. The report framed the funding condition as a mechanism to encourage compliance and standardize security practices across jurisdictions.

If Congress advances the SAVE America Act, implementation would likely require states to adjust administrative procedures for election technology, voter registration maintenance, and documentation used to satisfy federal requirements. The report did not provide additional detail in the summary on timelines, enforcement triggers, or the specific federal office that would evaluate state compliance.

Political reaction to election-related funding requirements typically includes disputes about the pace of changes and how federal rules interact with state election authority. New York Post Politics did not include those details in the packet summary, but the core question it raised is how eligibility determinations and machine security requirements would be operationalized while following existing registration and challenge processes under state law.

The immediate next step in the effort described by New York Post Politics is congressional action on the SAVE America Act, followed by any rulemaking and guidance that could determine what documentation states would need to show compliance and when funding could be reduced or withheld for noncompliance.