(The Center Square) – As a marathon debate over the SAVE America Act continues in the U.S. Senate, Republicans and Democrats are sparring over whether the voter ID bill would strengthen election security or discourage potential voters.
“The SAVE America Act embodied the mantra often used in this town and elsewhere that we want to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. You have to have both of those; if you neglect either one, you’re going to create problems,” U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, an avid supporter of the House-passed bill, told reporters Thursday.
“If you prefer the former while shunning the latter, you will in fact succeed in making it easy to vote. But that sort of betrays and diminishes the whole point of having free and fair elections, and it makes them impossible,” he added.
The SAVE America Act would mandate that Americans display a valid ID to vote in federal elections, require people to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and necessitate in-person voter registration for federal elections. It also directs all states to remove all noncitizens from their voter rolls.
Under the legislation, people would not be able to register to vote with only their driver’s license, since noncitizens can obtain that. They would instead need to present documents proving U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or U.S. passport.
Democrats argue that the in-person registration and proof of citizenship requirements would unduly burden Americans who are disabled, live in remote areas, or don’t have access to the correct documentation.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with nearly all congressional Democrats, have dubbed the legislation a “voter suppression bill” and remain staunchly opposed.
“As we have all week, Democrats will continue to hold the floor to block the Republican voter suppression SAVE [America] Act,” Schumer said on social media Thursday. “And as I’ve said all week: We will not let this bill pass under any circumstances, no matter how long it takes.”
While the days-long marathon debate is unlikely to change the minds of enough Democrats to overcome the filibuster, Republicans argue that it will at least force Senate Democrats to go on the record about why they oppose the bill.
Lee and others say Democrats’ arguments are “ill-founded” and “blatant mischaracterizations.”
For Americans without access to documentation, the bill allows potential voters to issue a sworn attestation under penalty of perjury that establishes the facts of their citizenship. Once their state verifies their citizenship and confirms their eligibility, those Americans’ votes will be counted.
Existing law for voter registration in federal elections does not require the state to officially review or verify citizenship attestations, which Republicans argue is an election security risk.
“I have yet to hear a legitimate argument against the bill, which begs the question: do they really just want to make it easy to vote so badly that they’re willing or even enthusiastic to just make it easier to cheat?” Lee said.
The marathon debate has also given Republicans the opportunity to propose White House-blessed amendments to the legislation, some more related to election issues than others.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., introduced an amendment that would restrict mail-in voting except for military, illness, travel, disability, or “another hardship that would make in-person voting unreasonable or impractical, as determined by the State election authority based on a sworn certification submitted by the voter.”
Schmitt’s amendment also bans males who identify as transgender from professionally participating in women’s sports, as well as prohibits “gender transition” surgeries on minors.
But the additional proposals make it less likely than ever that Republicans can get the seven Democratic votes needed to pass the SAVE America Act, with moderate Democrats like Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., condemning the amendment and calling more a paring down of the bill itself.
“Keep it basic: PHOTO ID to vote. Stop turning this into a Christmas list and attacking vote-by-mail,” Fetterman said on social media Thursday. “If GOP wants real reform over a show vote – put out a clean, standalone bill and I’m AYE.”
