It’s been nearly a month since the House passed the SAVE America Act to require ID for voting and proof of citizenship to register to vote. Given the massive popularity of the reform, it shouldn’t take “the most deliberative body in the world,” — the U.S. Senate — this much deliberation. Because the SAVE America Act would be a major boon to democracy (not to mention senators’ poll numbers) across America.
Democracy means, in theory, that most people get what they want from government. We vote, and the elected officials of our Republic carry out our express will. As a professional pollster, I can tell you that few political issues, if any, enjoy the kind of strong, bipartisan support that the SAVE America Act enjoys. According to Pew Research Center, eight out of 10 Americans, including seven in 10 Democrats, support voter ID laws.
When it comes to election integrity, there are two groups of people. One group wants to ensure only eligible Americans are casting ballots. The other group is willing to tolerate election fraud. There is no third group. The American people are overwhelmingly in the first.
According to our polling at the Center for Excellence in Polling, 87 percent of Americans support requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. This includes 80 percent of Democratic voters. In fact, two-thirds of Americans mistakenly assume it’s the law already because it’s such basic common sense. If the Senate believes in democracy—in doing the will of the voter—then passing the Save America Act is a no-brainer.
Yet in the House, only one Democrat, Texas moderate Rep. Henry Cuellar, voted for the SAVE America Act. Why do nearly all Democrats in Congress oppose something so popular, even with their own base? Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York claims that requiring ID is discriminatory and even racist, calling it “Jim Crow.”
These claims are simply false—and, unlike most political claims, we can actually prove it. Democrats levied these exact same accusations against Georgia’s voter ID law back in 2021, claiming it would suppress the Black vote. Liberal elites went into a full-blown meltdown about the law even though it had overwhelming support among voters. Major League Baseball pulled the All Star Game out of Atlanta, costing the largely Black city millions of dollars. Coca Cola’s British CEO publicly lambasted the company’s home state. The CEO of Levi Strauss called voter ID laws racist.
But the zillionaire Masters of the Universe pushing these talking points quickly faced a problem: They couldn’t find a scrap of evidence of anyone’s vote being “suppressed.” More people voted in Georgia’s 2022 midterm than in the 2018 midterm. More than 99 percent of Georgia voters saw no problems in the 2022 election. More than nine in 10 said it was “easy” to vote. Voter confidence went up.
The idea that racial minorities don’t have ID or can’t get ID is not just condescending, it is false and should be laughed out of the public discourse forever. Someone needs to tell Chuck Schumer and his caucus.
Despite what the elites say, Americans’ concerns about election integrity aren’t discriminatory or paranoid—they are perfectly reasonable. Democracy requires trust in elections—so that no matter who wins or loses everyone accepts the outcome. This leads to more civic harmony, a stronger society, and a government more in line with what people actually want.
Election fraud is a documented fact, and there are reasons to be concerned that it may be more widespread than we realize. States like California, Minnesota, and even Utah give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, opening up the real possibility—whether intentionally or unintentionally—of illegal aliens registering to vote. When the Trump administration has tried to review voter registrations to enforce federal law, Democratic states have refused to comply. And in our narrowly divided country, with national elections decided by only a few thousand votes, fraudulent votes could have a major impact.
Senate Democrats should take a look at the polls and realize that supporting the SAVE America Act is a huge opportunity to deliver for most of their voters. And, if they won’t do that, then Republican Leader John Thune should force the issue and show the American people which party reflects their values, giving voters a clear choice. This is how a democratic republic is supposed to work.
Every fraudulent vote cancels out the vote of an American citizen, stealing their voice. The eight in 10 Americans who support the provisions of the SAVE America Act are right to want elections they can trust, and a process that everyone can respect, win or lose. It’s time for the Senate to do what democracy is supposed to be about: listen to the voters and SAVE America.
Travis N. Taylor, Ph.D., is the Senior Market Research Manager at the Center for Excellence in Polling, a project of the non-profit Foundation for Government Accountability, where he conducts polling and focus groups of voters to make sure their voices are heard in the halls of power.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America / Wikimedia Commons)
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