ABC News host Jonathan Karl called out Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) over voter identification requirements in Virginia.
The two were debating the Democratic opposition to the SAVE America Act Sunday on "This Week."
Karl asked Warner if the Democrats should support national photo identification requirements for voter registration and voting.
"Now, I understand that you and I think every other Democrat opposed this so-called SAVE America Act. And there's a lot of reasons that you've put forward. But let me ask you very narrowly on the issue of photo ID, requiring photo ID to register to vote, to vote. Is this something that Democrats should get behind?" Karl asked.
Karl gave statistics on support for the SAVE America Act and Warner began talking about voting in The Old Dominion.
"You know what? In Virginia, we have voter ID and photo ID," Warner said.
"That's actually not the case," Karl said. "I mean, I'm a Virginia voter. You don't need to show a photo ID in Virginia. There are wide range of things you can show for ID, and if you don't show one of those, you can sign an affidavit saying, attesting-"
"You can sign an affidavit," Warner said.
Karl said an affidavit was not required.
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"Those become ballots that, if you want to contest later, can be contested. But… we have voter ID of one form or another," Warner said.
Virginia law states election officers must ask in-person voters for identification, but can accept voter confirmation documents, utility bills, bank statements, government checks and paychecks, which do not need to include a photograph.
A voter without acceptable identification can sign an ID Confirmation Statement under felony penalties and cast a regular ballot. Voters who provide neither must cast a provisional ballot.
Virginia's voter registration application requires applicants to affirm their citizenship and provide a Social Security number if they have one but does not require photo identification.
When Karl asked whether identification should become a national standard, Warner said he could support government-issued identification if the approved documents were applied uniformly. He added broader legislation would restrict voting.
"If you can show any photo that is government stamped, would be fine," Warner said. "If you’re going to have a set of IDs, let’s have it across the board as long as it comes from some official point, but this is not about voter ID. The Save Act is about voter disenfranchisement."
A 2025 Pew Research Center survey revealed 83% of Americans were in favor of requiring government-issued photo identification to vote. This breaks down to 71% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and 95% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, eligible photo identification before voting and states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
The House initially passed it 218-213 in February.