Politics and views in the United States

States pursue proof of citizenship laws as the federal SAVE Act stalls in Congress, TSA agents get retroactive paychecks, and a California appeals court allows a county sheriff's probe into votes to proceed.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

People could just, on the honor system, say I'm a citizen.

This bill actually put some teeth behind it and said, hey, we need to make sure you're a citizen by proving that.

Republican South Dakota State Senator John Carley celebrates the passage of his state's version of the Federal Save Act, which requires strict in-person documented proof of citizenship for new registrations.

As President Donald Trump's signature election bill stalls in the Senate, state GOP lawmakers are moving to restrict who, how, and when people can vote.

Utah and Florida have both recently passed proof-of-citizenship bills.

Trump is urging Senate Republicans to eliminate the filibuster to pass both the SAVE Act and Department of Homeland Security funding, but so far they're refusing to get rid of the 60-vote threshold needed to pass most legislation.

Meanwhile, TSA workers who've gone without pay during the partial government shutdown have started getting retroactive paychecks.

This after Trump signed an executive order to reroute homeland security funds and help speed up airport security lines.

But TSA union rep Johnny Jones says the damage by lawmakers is already done.

They're going home for their two-week recess so they can go collect their golden Easter eggs and all their extra little campaign contributions while my kids aren't going to have anything in their Easter eggs, okay?

White House officials say ICE agents may remain at some airports depending many TSA agents returned to work, at least 500 security screeners have reportedly quit.

Trump is citing great progress in talks with Tehran, but continues to warn the U.S. will bomb Iran's civilian energy infrastructure unless the Strait of Hormuz reopens.

Human rights groups say the president's threatened retribution would be a war crime.

For their part, Iranian officials deny there are negotiations and instead are condemning a series of attacks on universities, saying they could retaliate by hitting U.S.

Mid-East satellite campuses.

A California appeals court has denied the state attorney general's attempt to stop a Riverside County sheriff's investigation into potential voter fraud.

Sheriff Chad Bianco, a leading Republican candidate for governor, seized more than half a million ballots from last November's election, citing concerns by a far-right conspiracy group.

Were the humans right in the number of ballots that came in and the machine counted differently.

It is impossible for us to know unless we do an investigation.

Election officials say there's no real evidence of fraud.

Newly surfaced social media posts show Bianco repeating extremist conspiracy theories, including false claims that Democrats rely on illegal votes to win office.

And Florida Democrats have claimed another upset victory in a special election.

Navy veteran Brian Nathan has won a state Senate race and reliably read West Tampa.

Since the 2024 election, Democrats have flipped 30 GOP seats in multiple states, including Arkansas, New Hampshire, and Texas.

I'm Katherine Carley for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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