03.21.26

Democrats Twist Themselves In Knots to Oppose Popular Voter ID Requirements

After Leader Schumer Claimed Democrats Have No Issue With Voter ID, Democrats Swiftly Blocked the Senate From Passing A Standalone Voter ID Bill

SENATE DEMOCRAT LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER HAS BEEN CLAIMING ALL WEEK THAT HE AND DEMOCRATS SUPPORT VOTER ID, YET DEMOCRATS BLOCKED A STANDALONE VOTER ID BILL ON THE SENATE FLOOR

“You’ve probably heard some falsehoods coming out of the Democrats throughout the course of the week.

Probably paramount among those was when Leader Schumer answered a question and said, ‘Well, we’re not really opposed to photo ID.’ That was quickly dispelled…” – Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)

“I was just going to add one thing, and that is that Democrats support voter ID. In fact, we included it and it is included in our Freedom to Vote legislation several years ago. So, we're not opposed…” – Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (3/15/26)

“Democrats support commonsense voter ID proposals.” – Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (3/17/26)

  • “Democratic leaders say they don’t oppose voter ID laws, but they blocked a bill to impose a nationwide requirement Thursday.” (Fox News: GOP senator’s gambit exposes false Dem claims about supporting voter ID – 3/21/26)
  • Schumer has also kept claiming that the SAVE America Act isn’t actually a voter ID bill:
    • REPORTER: “[C]an you just explain, uh, isn't this sort of a, you know, stab in the back to the American people who 85 percent of them, 85 percent of voters support voter ID?”
    • LEADER SCHUMER: “Yes. But their bill isn't voter ID, number one.” (Senate Democrats: Press Conference – 3/10/26)
  • So, Senate Republicans gave Democrats a chance to pass a standalone voter ID bill – but Democrats blocked it on the Senate floor:
    • “I heard Senator Schumer say, ‘our objection as Democrats is not to a photo I.D.’ I heard Senator Fetterman say he supports a photo I.D. law and I guess if I could quote him, ‘if the GOP wants real reform over a show vote, put out a clean stand-alone bill and I’m an aye.’ Well, that's what I’m doing tonight.” – Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio)
    • “The measure would have enacted a nationwide voter ID requirement, though 36 states already have similar rules on the books. The Ohio Republican said citizens could use a state-issued driver’s license, a U.S. passport or valid military or tribal ID to meet the requirement.” (Fox News: GOP senator’s gambit exposes false Dem claims about supporting voter ID – 3/21/26)
    • In response, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) objected to Sen. Husted’s provision and offered a counterproposal that would explicitly prohibit states from requiring ID to request or cast a mail-in ballot – proving that Democrats are not actually in favor of voter ID. (U.S. Congress: Congressional Record – Vol. 172 No. 50 – 3/19/26)

BY BLOCKING SEN. HUSTED’S VOTER ID BILL AND UNANIMOUSLY OPPOSING THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, DEMOCRATS ARE OPPOSING PROVISIONS WIDELY SUPPORTED BY AMERICANS

  • “The SAVE America Act would protect and preserve the right of American citizens to vote by… [r]equiring individuals to present an eligible photo identification document before voting.” (Sen. Lee: Senator Mike Lee Introduces SAVE America Act with Congressman Chip Roy – 1/30/26)
  • In a CBS News poll released on Thursday, “Requiring photo ID to vote and proving citizenship to register both find wide and often bipartisan support.” (CBS News Poll – 3/19/26)
  • “The idea of showing photo ID to vote gets support across party lines:”

cbspoll1

(CBS News Poll – 3/19/26)

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(CBS News Poll – 3/19/26)

  • “Proving citizenship to register also gets majority backing, if relatively less than a photo ID to vote:”

cbspoll3

(CBS News Poll – 3/19/26)

  • Poll after poll has found that Americans support both the House-passed SAVE America Act and voter ID laws:
    • 71% of voters in a February 2026 Harvard-Harris poll support the House-passed SAVE America Act, including 50% of Democrat voters and 69% of Independent voters. (Harvard-Harris Poll – 3/2/26)
    • 81% of voters in the same poll support requiring voter ID to vote, including 70% of Democrat voters, 68% of self-described liberal voters, and 79% of Independent voters. (Harvard-Harris Poll – 3/2/26)
    • In a separate poll from August 2025, 83% of voters – including 71% of Democrats – said they support requiring a photo ID for all voters. (Pew Research Center Poll – 8/22/25)
  • Senate Democrats are also expected to vote against an amendment to the SAVE America Act to keep men out of women’s sports. (Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio: post on X – 3/15/26; Senate Cloakroom: post on X - 3/20/26)
    • 79% of respondents to a January 2025 New York Times/Ipsos poll believe that athletes who are biologically male but who identify as female “[s]hould not be allowed to compete in women’s sports,” including 67% of Democrat/Lean Democrat respondents and 64% of Independent/Something else respondents. (New York Times/Ipsos Survey – Jan. 2025)
    • A June 2025 poll found that over two-thirds “of U.S. adults continue to believe that transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on sports teams that match their birth sex.” (Gallup Poll – 6/10/25)