North Carolina’s discovery of 34,000 dead people on its voter rolls has sparked renewed calls for voter roll cleanup measures, including increased pressure on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act.

After a state election official said the number of dead people found on North Carolina’s voter rolls was «higher than we anticipated,» Republican Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina called for immediate action to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, commonly known as the SAVE America Act.

«North Carolina confirms 34,000 deceased individuals on our voter rolls,» he wrote in an X post. «This isn’t a mistake—it’s a failure. Election integrity is non-negotiable. Fix it now. Pass the SAVE America Act!»

This discovery has also prompted questions about how many other states have deceased voters still on their rolls. Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project Action, said he is especially concerned about blue states he believes have been refusing «commonsense» measures to clean up voter rolls.

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Earlier this month, the North Carolina State Board of Elections submitted over 7.3 million voter records to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database as part of an initiative to strengthen the accuracy and integrity of the state’s voter registration list. Following a comprehensive data comparison with the federal database, the elections board identified approximately 34,000 dead people on the state’s voter rolls.

Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a press release after the discovery, «While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated.»

«The benefit of entering into cross-state and federal database checks is that it allows us to uncover issues like this. Our goal is to use every available and legal tool at our disposal to achieve the most accurate voter rolls possible,» he continued. «Now, we must roll up our sleeves and begin the hard work to act of verifying that every person registered to vote in North Carolina is eligible. Our team, along with our state and federal [partners] will do what’s necessary to meet this responsibility.»

The state board said it will work with county boards of elections to remove the deceased individuals from the voter rolls in accordance with state and federal law. 

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Voting booths are set up during a primary election. (iStock)

While North Carolina is collaborating with the federal government and taking steps to clean up its rolls, Snead expressed concern that Democratic-run states are not doing the same.

«Voter list maintenance takes effort from state officials,» he told Fox News Digital.

He called North Carolina «another example of a state doing the work to root out bad registrations using federal records like the SAVE system.»

«But too many Democrat-controlled states are refusing to do the commonsense work of cleaning up bloated voter rolls or stopping ineligible people from registering in the first place,» he said.

«That’s why it’s so important for Congressional Democrats to end their obstruction of the SAVE America Act, a commonsense, popular piece of legislation that keeps it easy to vote and makes it harder to cheat,» he added.

The SAVE America Act would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. It mandates states to verify voter rolls using citizenship data, remove ineligible registrants and impose civil and criminal penalties on officials who register voters without required proof.

The legislation is currently stuck in limbo in the Senate. Last week, a cohort of Senate Republicans joined Democrats to sink a late-night attempt to attach a version of the voter ID and citizenship verification legislation to the GOP’s bill funding federal immigration enforcement.

Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all voted against a modified version of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., prepare for a floor battle over Trump-backed voter ID legislation as Senate Republicans and Democrats aim to find a compromise on healthcare after the enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies expire. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu)

President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed for passage of the SAVE America Act. Last month, he vowed not to sign any other bills until it gets through, and said he wouldn’t approve of a «watered down version.»

Last month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., released a statement explaining their opposition to the legislation. The statement posited that the legislation would «disenfranchise up to 21 million citizens who can’t readily access their passports and birth certificates.»

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If enacted, the three asserted the SAVE America Act would be «sowing chaos in state election administration and fueling attacks against hardworking election officials by exposing them to new criminal liability.»

Schumer charged «MAGA Republicans» with «trying to make it harder for Americans to vote.» He asserted that «they know their agenda is failing, so they’re changing the rules.»

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel and Alex Miller contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned China that «the sovereignty of our hemisphere is non-negotiable» after the U.S. and regional allies accused Beijing of detaining Panama-flagged ships in a dispute tied to canal port control.

In a joint statement with Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. said China’s actions targeting Panama-flagged vessels were a «blatant attempt to politicize maritime trade» and infringe on regional sovereignty, framing the dispute as a broader strategic test over control of one of the world’s most critical commercial arteries.

While the Panama dispute centers on shipping detentions rather than a physical blockade, critics increasingly view it alongside battles over other strategic choke points, such as the Strait of Hormuz, as part of a widening contest over whether Beijing or Washington will shape the rules governing global trade and energy corridors.

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The confrontation follows Panama’s Supreme Court decision earlier in 2026 to invalidate the legal framework behind Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison’s long-held control of the Balboa and Cristobal terminals flanking the Panama Canal, a choke point that handles roughly 5% of global maritime trade. 

U.S. regulators have monitored nearly 70 Panama-flagged vessels detained by Chinese authorities since March 8, according to Reuters — a surge American officials say appears designed to retaliate against Panama and pressure global shipping.

«China has used Iran to destabilize the Middle East. In effect, Iran has been China’s proxy,» China expert Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital, arguing Beijing’s actions in Panama fit a broader global pattern in which China uses economic leverage, trade pressure and regional partners to expand influence while condemning similar tactics from Washington.

Chang said Beijing is now facing growing resistance as the U.S. increasingly moves not only against China directly, but also against governments and geopolitical flashpoints he argues have strengthened Beijing’s hand.

«Trump apparently decided that he would counter this sly tactic by taking China’s proxies — Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran — off the board,» Chang said.

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An aerial view shows the port of Rodman in Panama City Jan. 30, 2026. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)

He also framed pressure on Iran and threats to the Strait of Hormuz as part of a larger strategic effort aimed at both Tehran and Beijing.

«Closing the Strait of Hormuz is a two-fer, starving Iran’s regime and shaking China’s already fragile economy,» Chang said. «Trump is using energy to reorder the world.»

Chang also accused Beijing of hypocrisy over trade.

«China’s Communists invented hypocrisy. Nobody does hypocrisy better than the Chinese Communists,» he said, arguing China long benefited from a global trading system it increasingly weaponized for geopolitical purposes.

«The elemental truth is that China started this cycle of action and retaliation,» Chang said. «If China had not threatened America, America would not have leaned on Panama. If America had not leaned on Panama, China would not have detained Panamanian vessels.»

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Two cargo ships enter the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal in Panama City on Jan. 22. (Martin Bernetti/AFP)

China has rejected accusations that it is politicizing trade, with its foreign ministry arguing U.S. criticism reflects Washington’s own strategic ambitions around the canal.

China’s foreign ministry called the statement on Wednesday «entirely baseless and misleading», said it would take steps to safeguard China’s interests in Panama, and accused the United States of politicizing ports, according to Reuters.

«China also urges the relevant countries not to be deceived or exploited by malevolent forces,» added Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesperson.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Reuters contributed to this article.

La relación transatlántica que marcó la seguridad europea desde el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial sigue su camino hacia la ruptura. El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump anunció en la medianoche del miércoles en sus redes sociales que Estados Unidos retirará buena parte de los más de 38.000 soldados que tiene estacionados en bases militares alemanas.

Alemania es el país europeo donde Estados Unidos tiene más personal, además de una de sus mayores bases fuera de territorio nacional, la de Ramstein.

El anuncio se hace justo después de que el jefe del Gobierno alemán, el conservador Friedrich Merz, criticara la actuación de Estados Unidos en Irán. Merz llegó a decir que Estados Unidos estaba siendo “humillado” por Irán y que la Administración estadounidense “no tiene una estrategia convincente” para su guerra contra el régimen iraní.

Merz ha ido cambiando de posición desde que empezó la guerra. Al principio, para no criticar de ninguna manera a Trump y ponerse del lado del estadounidense, dijo que estaban “en la misma página”, que entendía la guerra y sus motivos y que Alemania la apoyaba, aunque eso no significa ayuda militar.

En una visita a la Casa Blanca que fue muy criticada porque Merz asintió mientras Trump atacaba al británico Keir Starmer y al español Pedro Sánchez, Alemania se puso del lado estadounidense.

Esa estrategia duró apenas unos días. Para finales de marzo Berlín ya apoyaba, en una cumbre europea, la posición de consenso de sus socios europeos al decir que la guerra de Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán “no es nuestra guerra”.

Pero lo que parece haber hecho cambiar más radicalmente al jefe del Gobierno alemán son los efectos económicos del conflicto en forma de aumento de los costos energéticos y, por ende, de la inflación. La Comisión Europea calcula que la factura energética de los últimos dos meses para los europeos ya es casi 30.000 millones de euros superior a lo que hubiera sido sin el conflicto contra Irán y sus derivadas.

El anuncio de Donald Trump de retirar tropas de Alemania debe entenderse como un castigo a Merz, igual que la Casa Blanca baraja, según memorándums que filtra a agencias de prensa, castigar a otros países que han sido críticos con la guerra o que no han ayudado a Estados Unidos como Trump hubiera pretendido.

Se apunta sobre todo a España, por las críticas de Pedro Sánchez a la guerra y su negativa a que Estados Unidos use para el conflicto las bases de uso conjunto en España e incluso que sobrevuele territorio español.

El giro con Alemania es el más difícil de entender. Berlín se había convertido con Merz, que llegó al poder apenas tres meses después que Trump, en el alumno aplicado de las exigencias estadounidenses. Alemania está disparando su gasto militar y aspira a llegar al 3,7% del PBI para 2030, un gasto que convertirá a los alemanes en la primera potencia militar europea de largo, un movimiento que empieza a genera reticencias en capitales como París y Londres.

Con la extrema derecha neonazi y prorrusa de AfD superando a los conservadores de la CDU de Merz en los sondeos, muchos analistas se preguntan qué pasará si en 2029 se da la posibilidad remota, pero no imposible, de que AfD llegue al poder y se encuentre a los mandos de una superpotencia militar.

Pero ese aumento del gasto militar, que en parte va a la industria estadounidense, era lo que había pedido Estados Unidos. Por lo que este castigo, porque así es como hay que entenderlo según fuentes diplomáticas europeas, puede deberse simplemente a que Trump se molestó por las críticas de Merz.

En la base alemana de Ramstein se encuentran los cuarteles del Mando Europeo de Estados Unidos y un cambio alteraría los planes anunciados por Washington de estacionar en bases alemanas misiles Tomahawk de largo alcance. Alemania también había pedido a Estados Unidos otros materiales de ataque a distancia como medida preventiva contra Rusia.

En julio de 2020, al final de su primer mandato, Trump ordenó retirar 12.000 soldados de bases estadounidenses en Alemania, pero el Congreso rechazó el plan y el Pentágono no pudo forzar su cumplimiento antes de que su entonces sucesor y ahora antecesor Joe Biden llegara a la Casa Blanca.