Tesla CEO and former White House advisor Elon Musk on Wednesday weighed in on legislation that would require ID and proof of citizenship to register to vote, warning that democracy could be at risk.
"It must be done or democracy is dead," Musk said on the social platform X, which he owns.
Musk was commenting on a post from conservative pundit Glenn Beck, who wrote that by passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, "the GOP will save the republic AND rescue the GOP."
"If they fail, we all fail," Beck continued. "80% off all Americans want this - you need ID for everything except voting. There is only one reason not to pass this and we all know what it is. GOP save the republic, save the Republican Party from itself. PASS THE SAVE ACT."
Musk has also been a supporter of proof of ID to register to vote. Last year, he and President Trump backed a ballot measure to require photo identification for Wisconsin voters. The CEO called the ballot measure's passage "the most important thing."
In 2024, Musk mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for banning local governments from requiring voter ID, dubbing him "the Joker."
"Wow, it is now illegal to require voter ID in California!" Musk wrote on X. "They just made PREVENTING voter fraud against the law. The Joker is in charge."
Congressional Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), have voiced support for the SAVE Act. Johnson opposed an attempt by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to include the SAVE Act in a massive funding package to reopen the government from a partial government shutdown.
"We all want the SAVE Act, but we look at the reality of the numbers here," Johnson said Monday. "And we passed the SAVE Act twice in the House. We'll pass it again, we'll do that. But this is a funding package right now, and I don't think we need to be playing games with government funding."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) equated the SAVE Act with legal segregation in the South during the 20th century.
"The SAVE Act is nothing more than Jim Crow 2.0. It would disenfranchise millions of Americans. Every single Senate Democrat will vote against any bill that contains it," Schumer wrote on X. "Speaker Johnson should tell SAVE Act Republicans to stand down or else this shutdown will be on them."
The SAVE Act differs from legislation introduced this week dubbed the Make Elections Great Again Act, a bill led by House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil (R-Wis.). The bill requires voter ID but would also require restrictions on how states administer and maintain their elections.
The bill would also require mail-in ballots be received as polls close on election day to be counted, with exceptions for members of the military serving overseas.