HR 4798119th CongressIn Committee

Making American Elections Great Again Act

Introduced: Jul 29, 2025

Civil Rights & Justice

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This bill, titled the Making American Elections Great Again Act, would overhaul two core parts of the U.S. electoral system: how the national population is counted for representation and how people vote in federal elections. It would change when and how the decennial census is conducted, require counting only U.S. citizens for apportionment of House seats and the Electoral College, and add a new requirement that voters present government-issued photo ID along with proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections (with different rules for in-person vs. mail voting). The act also directs immediate redistricting after the first citizen-count census under the new rules and makes conforming changes to related voting laws. The earliest federal election affected would be November 2026.

Key Points

1Census timing and citizen checkbox
2- The decennial census date would be required to occur every 10 years, starting on the enactment date, with the Secretary allowed to determine form and content (including sampling or special surveys).
3- A new “mid-decade census date” would be set five years after the decennial census date.
4- The census questionnaire would include a checkbox or similar option for respondents to indicate citizenship status for themselves and household members.
5Apportionment based only on citizens
6- For counting population used to determine Representatives (and related Electoral College votes), noncitizens would be excluded from the count.
7- States would begin redistricting based on the apportionment derived from the first census conducted under the amended statute.
8Voting requirements for federal elections
9- A new Section 303A would require voters to present government-issued photo identification and proof of United States citizenship to vote in federal elections.
10- In-person voting would require showing both proof of citizenship and a government photo ID (or two documents with matching names, or a name-change documentation if names differ).
11- For mail voting, a voter would need to submit copies of citizenship proof and photo ID (or documents with matching names, or name-change evidence).
12- Provisional ballots would be available if identification requirements aren’t met, but those ballots would only count if citizenship is verified later.
13- The definition of “proof of United States citizenship” includes several documents such as passports, birth certificates, naturalization certificates, and other DHS- or state-issued records.
14Penalties and enforcement
15- New penalties would apply for providing material assistance to a noncitizen attempting to vote and for providing a ballot to someone who fails to meet the new ID/citizenship requirements.
16Conforming and related amendments
17- The bill would repeal or modify existing photo ID requirements for certain voters within the Help America Vote Act and make related clerical and enforcement amendments to align with the new framework.
18- A new statutory section (303A) would be added to formalize the citizenship-verification voting requirement.
19Effective date
20- The new rules would apply to the regularly scheduled general election for federal office in November 2026 and thereafter.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Voters in federal elections and states administering elections; states would also adjust redistricting and apportionment processes based on the citizen-only census.Secondary group/area affected- States’ election officials, civil rights organizations, immigrant communities, and political entities affected by changes to apportionment, redistricting timing, and voting eligibility requirements.Additional impacts- Potentially significant legal and constitutional questions around apportionment based on citizen population and the balance between voting access and eligibility.- Administrative and cost implications for conducting a mid-decade census, updating census forms, and implementing stricter ID/citizenship checks.- Possible shifts in the size and composition of the House and the Electoral College over time, along with earlier or more rapid redistricting cycles.

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