The Senate has little more than a week to finish business before its August recess; this includes attempted passage of the problematic Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, a non-starter for some lawmakers and the National Association of Counties.
"The SAVE America Act imposes significant new federal requirements, including documentary proof of citizenship verification, same-day voter roll changes, revised ballot processing timelines and new reporting requirements, without providing dedicated federal funding to implement them," NACo wrote in a letter to Congress.
NACo estimates "implementation costs for counties would reach approximately $510 million per election cycle, roughly 11.3 times the current level of federal election security funding available under the Help America Vote Act."
The bill was passed by the House in February with support from the White House but has stalled in the Senate where it needs 60 votes to move forward. The Republicans control only 53 seats.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, and Thom Tillis have helped freeze the bill.
Election security is also a hot button issue at the state level. According to the National Council of State Legislators, "lawmakers across the country have introduced nearly 1,800 election-related bills and enacted at least 274," this year.
Four states voted to require "documentary proof of citizenship," which mean voters must provide birth certificates, passports, or naturalization documents. Nine other states already employ DPOC systems.
Court cases in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio may or may not affect proposed elections rules.
NACo maintains it's too late to change the rules for this election cycle as the midterm election process has already started in several states, which held primaries.
"The act provides no transition time for governments or funding to help them comply with these requirements," said NACo.
NACo also believes provisions in the SAVE Act are contradictory to state rules, leaving counties at risk "to comply simultaneously with conflicting state and federal mandates without legal guidance on how to reconcile them."
President Trump continues to lean on Senate Majority Leader John Thune about getting SAVE across the finish line, which could happen in several ways.
The National Defense Authorization Act was passed by the House earlier this month and is now lingering in the Senate. SAVE could get attached to the defense bill but would still need 60 votes to pass.
The House has also passed a continuing resolution in July that includes defense funding and farm aid. SAVE provisions could be added and would then need only a simple majority to pass.
The Senate could also vote to end the filibuster by eliminating or changing the rules of cloture, which requires 60 members to agree.
Both parties have flirted with changing the arcane rules governing filibusters, some of which were created during Thomas Jefferson's presidency.
Filibuster rules are often bent by both parties during confirmation hearings.
Some senators and the White House are considering canceling recess and staying in session until the SAVE bill passes. Election Day is less than 100 days away.
