Schumer, Democrats say they support voter ID — then block GOP amendment to require it
Senate Democrats blocked an amendment to Trump-backed voter ID legislation that would have done something they publicly support: require photo identification to vote in federal elections.
Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have shown interest in photo voter ID, which has grown in popularity among voters across the country.
"Democrats support voter ID," Schumer said on a press call earlier this month. "In fact, we included it, and it is included, in our Freedom to Vote legislation several years ago."
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Several others have also come out in support of a voter ID bill in recent weeks.
When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins whether he would support a clean voter ID bill, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said, "Yes."
"And New Jersey has voter ID laws," Booker said. "I’ve got to show my driver’s license."
Still, Democrats blocked an amendment to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, meant to put them on record for that position.
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Schumer said ahead of the vote that "Republicans are once again wasting time on voter suppression."
"Let's let's be very clear what this amendment is," Schumer said. "It's a wolf in sheep's clothing, and it's a giant cover-up to what their bill really does, which is dramatic voter suppression, kicking 20 million or more people off the rolls without their knowledge or consent."
Senate Republicans argued that if Democrats truly support voter ID, they should back the amendment.
"That is one on which the Democrats have said — Senator Schumer himself — that ‘we are not opposed to photo ID,’" Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. "Well, let’s test that proposition. Let’s actually have a vote on it and see where the Democrats are."
Republicans have been engaged in a floor push on the SAVE America Act for the past 10 days, debating the legislation in a bid to shift the narrative from the GOP being unable to advance the bill out of the Senate to Democrats being the ones blocking it.
Senate Democrats have argued that while they support identification to vote, the SAVE America Act goes far beyond that requirement. Schumer and others have likened the broader bill to Jim Crow-era segregationist laws in the Deep South, saying it would disenfranchise voters — particularly minority communities and low-income Americans.
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However, requiring identification is already the practice in 36 states. Of those, 23 require photo ID, while 13 accept another form of identification, such as a bank statement. Nine of those states have Democratic senators.
According to a widely cited Pew Research poll from last year, 71% of Democratic voters support showing government-issued photo ID to vote.
"I know there are a lot of issues in the SAVE America Act, but this particular one focused on photo ID as something that can be easily implemented, which is already being implemented around the country," Husted said of his amendment.
Senate Democrats blocked the measure once before, when Husted tried to force a vote on a standalone photo voter ID bill last week. His amendment listed several acceptable forms of identification, including an unexpired driver’s license with a photo, an unexpired state-issued ID card with a photo, a valid passport, a valid military or veteran ID with a photo, or an unexpired tribal ID with a photo.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who typically breaks with his party, stood alongside Schumer and his colleagues on Thursday. Like other Democrats, he has opposed the SAVE America Act because of its additional provisions, such as giving the Department of Homeland Security access to states’ voter rolls.
But he recently said, "If the GOP wants real reform over a show vote — put out a clean, standalone bill, and I’m AYE."