House advances Trump-backed voter ID bill

The House voted 218-213 on Wednesday to pass an election bill backed by President Donald Trump that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and require photo identification at the polls.

SAVE America ActPromoted by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, it has been the focus of a pressure campaign by the White House, hard-line congressional Republicans and online influencers like Elon Musk.

Many Democrats and voting rights groups, meanwhile, say the law would disenfranchise millions of Americans, make it harder to register to vote and put more power in the hands of Trump and the federal government ahead of what is expected to be a tough midterm election for the GOP.

Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was the only Democrat to vote with Republicans.

Referring to Trump’s recent comments about nationalizing American elections, Rep. Joe Morelle, R-D.Y., said, “The President’s desire is for the elections to be turned over to him and his administration.”

“He wants to do this because Republicans know that if the midterm elections go the way they expect, they’re going to lose the majority in the House of Representatives, they’re probably going to lose the majority in the Senate,” Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal elections, told reporters Tuesday.

Under the U.S. Constitution, states are given control over most aspects of elections.

Now that the legislation has passed the House, it faces an uphill climb in the Senate, where Democratic leaders have vowed to block the measure, which needs 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska Go to opposition.

Speaking at a press conference after the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said, “We hope some Democrats in the Senate will come to their senses and do what’s right for the people. Otherwise, they have a lot of explaining to do.”

Senate Majority Leader RS.D., who supported the legislation. John Thune on Tuesday poured cold water on the push to open passage by changing the Senate filibuster rule, further weakening the bill’s chances of becoming law.

“There is no vote to nuke the bandits, not even close,” Thune said at a news conference Tuesday. “So this idea is an important thing, although it keeps being put forward… It has no future.”

But the Parliament is under pressure.

Johnson on Wednesday Appearing on Fox Business He said it was a top priority for both the House of Representatives and the president, and repeated Trump’s baseless claims that non-citizen voters would decide federal elections.

“They want illegals to vote. That’s why they opened the border wide for four years.” [President Joe} Biden and [Vice President Kamala] Harris and all these dangerous people were allowed in. It was a means to an end. “The result is to preserve their own power,” Johnson said.

“Obviously they have to cheat. That’s it. They have to allow illegals to participate in elections so they can continue to win,” he said.

It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, and Documented cases are rare.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice and the University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, 21 million Americans Documents proving their citizenship are not easily accessible and 2.6 million Americans Lack of any government-issued photo identification. Young voters and voters of color may be disproportionately affected, and women whose married names are not on their birth certificates may face additional barriers to registering. Brennan Center warns.

The latest push for the GOP-led election reform bill comes nearly a year after the House passed developed similar legislationWith the support of four Democrats, it was named the SAVINGS Act.

The previous version of the bill, also introduced by Roy, required proof of citizenship to register to vote but had no voter ID provision. There was never a vote in the Senate.

Maine Rep. Jared Golden, one of the Democrats who supported the previous SAVE Act, told CNBC this week that the new version is “not even close to the same” as the version he previously supported.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, another Democratic supporter of the earlier SAVE Act, said Wednesday she would not support the latest proposal. Both voted against the SAVE America Act on Wednesday.

“Call me a perfectionist, but if your legislation requires the government to provide free photocopying services, you haven’t written good legislation.” sent to x.