Democratic strategist James Carville lashed out Thursday night against the newly passed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, dismissing it as “totally unnecessary” and accusing Republicans of creating a fake crisis to score political points.

The bill, which passed the House with support from only four Democrats, requires states to obtain proof of citizenship before registering someone to vote in federal elections. Carville appeared on “CUOMO” with guest host Chris Sununu, where he mocked the bill as a “solution in search of a problem.”

“There has been study after study, and I mean a lot of studies and good studies that say that the amount of fraud in American elections is almost undetectable,” Carville insisted, calling the effort a waste of time and a bureaucratic headache for law-abiding Americans—particularly married women who’ve changed their names.

Democrats have claimed the bill might disenfranchise women who don’t have updated identification. However, Republicans say the legislation already includes measures to prevent that issue and ensure legitimate voters aren’t turned away.

Carville’s real issue with the bill? He said it’s just “grandstanding” from politicians trying to look virtuous. “It’s doing what a lot of Democrats do,” he quipped. “They say, ‘Look at me. I’m so moral. I’m so smart. I’m doing things that don’t affect anybody. But watch me.’ That’s what this is really about.”

Sununu pushed back, asking Carville how the government could ensure non-citizens aren’t voting without verifying citizenship status. Carville scoffed, saying undocumented immigrants are unlikely to risk exposure by voting illegally.

“If I’m undocumented … I’m not going to show up and vote,” he laughed. “I’m not going to expose myself.”

But Republicans aren’t buying it. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds joined the program after Carville and offered a very different take.

“I think it’s necessary,” Donalds said, pointing to the massive increase in illegal immigration since President Bush’s era. “There’s been a massive increase in illegal immigration in the United States. That’s beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

Donalds warned that mail-in voting has created loopholes that bad actors could exploit. “Unless you’re from Florida or Georgia or some other states that take vote by mail seriously … it’s actually quite loose to get an absentee ballot and to vote that ballot,” he said.

He argued that proving citizenship to vote is a reasonable safeguard at a time when the U.S. is dealing with millions of illegal immigrants who already have access to welfare and other government services.

In his defense of the bill, Donalds said, “If you have to demonstrate your citizenship in order to vote in federal elections, that’s a common-sense approach.”

Despite Carville’s protests, the SAVE Act now heads to the Senate, where Republicans are expected to have the votes to pass it. If signed into law, it would mark a significant win for election integrity advocates—and a clear rebuke of Democrat attempts to downplay concerns over non-citizen voting.

Carville did acknowledge one thing, though: President Trump won the 2024 election fair and square. “I don’t believe there was voter fraud,” he said. But for Republicans, that doesn’t mean the system shouldn’t be protected.