Trump is right to force the SAVE Act through Congress despite GOP hand-wringing over midterm optics. Election integrity is not a secondary issue to be traded for fleeting political peace. Weak Republicans who fear this fight concede the very foundation of self-government before ballots are even cast. The Constitution rests on the consent of citizens, not diluted by ineligible votes or lax state procedures. Federal legislation enforcing basic eligibility standards upholds that original design without expanding bureaucracy or trampling federalism. It protects the individual right to a meaningful vote against the quiet erosion that benefits only entrenched interests. Republicans unwilling to defend the ballot box have already surrendered the republic they claim to preserve.