Thune: Democrats Will Have to Show Americans Why They Oppose Voter ID

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WASHINGTON
— U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:
Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):
“Mr. President, since we began debate on the SAVE America Act, my Democrat colleagues have spent a lot of time hedging.
“And that’s been particularly evident on the issue of voter ID – something that Democrats have spent years decrying as a tool of voter suppression, but are now suggesting they somehow support.
“Democrats can read the polls as well as any of us.
“And I suspect that Democrats are not eager to be seen as on the 20 percent side of an 80-20 issue.
“So they’re trying to have their cake and eat it too.
“And so the Democrat leader is out there claiming Democrats support voter ID … as long, of course, as he doesn’t have to vote for any ID proposal that we actually put forward.
“On Thursday, the junior Republican senator from Ohio offered an eminently reasonable voter ID proposal.
“All that it would have done is require a photo ID for voters when they go to the polls.
“Driver’s license. Military ID. Tribal ID. Passport.
“The types of IDs that are sitting in wallets right now – that the American people use on a regular basis.
“Democrats said no – we don’t like that.
“So they blocked it.
“And more than blocked it, Mr. President.
“The junior senator from Oregon offered an alternative bill that would have actually banned voter ID for absentee ballots.
“And then yesterday, Mr. President, yesterday Democrats said the quiet part out loud.
“The Democrat leader came down to the floor and made it clear that when Democrats say they support voter ID, they mean that they support voter ID just as long as the ID requirements in question are meaningless.
“That’s right.
“The Democrat leader brought up a bill Democrats introduced a few years ago that included a voter ID requirement.
“Well, sort of.
“Let me read a few of the ‘IDs’ that Democrats’ bill would have accepted:
“A debit card.
“A lease or mortgage document.
“A utility bill.
“Any document containing the individual’s name – name, not photo – issued by a government.
“Or a photocopy of any one of the above.
“Now, sure, Mr. President, some of these things are accepted or requested as adjunct documents when you’re trying to get something like a driver’s license or a library card.
“Along with, you know, things like photo ID or a birth certificate.
“But just showing a utility bill to prove your identity?
“Give me a break, Mr. President.
“If someone asks you for an ID in any other circumstance, are you going to pull out your electric bill?
“Can you get into a bar by showing your lease?
“Can you prove eligibility to work at your new job by pulling out the water bill?
“No, you cannot.
“And I’d like to see someone try to get on a plane by presenting a photocopy of their debit card.
“Mr. President, when Republicans say voter ID, we mean an actual ID.
“With a picture.
“Issued by a government.
“The kind of ID that’s required for a whole bunch of things in our daily lives:
“Starting a new job.
“Driving a car.
“Doing an early pick-up at school.
“Opening a bank account.
“Getting a library card.
“The Democrat leader suggested that photo IDs are somehow out of reach for voters – that they need ‘inclusive’ voter ID options.
“Mr. President, how does the Democrat leader think Americans are navigating all of the scenarios I just mentioned?
“Well, I’ll tell him.
“With their photo IDs.
“And yet it’s somehow an intolerable burden to ask Americans to bring those IDs with them to the polls?
“Give me a break.
“Requiring a photo ID isn’t onerous.
“It’s common sense.
“And the American people agree.
“Poll after poll shows that Americans of both parties strongly support requiring a photo ID at the polls.
“And just to reassure my Democrat friends, a 2019 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found, and I quote, ‘strict ID laws have no significant negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any subgroup defined by age, gender, race, or party affiliation.’
“Mr. President, Democrats are going to have another chance tomorrow to support election integrity by implementing a commonsense photo ID requirement.
“Will they stand with Americans?
“Or will they continue to oppose any meaningful ID requirement at the polls?”