“Photo IDs restore the trust our system needs. They reduce fraud. They send a simple message. Your vote matters. Elections are decided by your fellow citizens – not illegal immigrants.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today spoke in strong support of the common sense idea of requiring a photo ID to vote in U.S. elections.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:
“In today’s Democrat Party, common sense is not very common. Photo ID requirements are the definition of common sense. You need an ID to buy a beer,
board a plane, cash a check, and do so much else in American life. Why not for voting?
“The SAVE America Act simply says you need to be a citizen of America to register to vote. You need to show ID to vote. That is in no way controversial. Unless of course you are a Senate Democrat.
“This week, every Democrat member of the United States Senate has been put on record. Republicans support photo ID. Every Democrat in this chamber voted against it. That includes Senator Schumer. For years, Senator Schumer argued for the very thing he just voted against.
“Thirty years ago, Congressman Schumer of New York championed photo ID. He stood on the Floor of the United States House of Representatives and argued that IDs were necessary to stop illegal immigrants from receiving welfare.
“Today, the same Senator Schumer from New York calls photo IDs ‘fringe.’ That’s what he did on this Floor earlier this week. Did he change his beliefs? Or did his party change its needs? The Minority Leader is not alone.
“There is a video of President Barack Obama voting in his 2012 reelection race. The video shows President Obama presenting his photo ID in order to vote. He was the President of the United States. He was on the ballot. He was probably the most well-known person in the entire world at the time. Even President Barack Obama had to prove who he was when he showed up to vote.
“Just recently, one of our Democrat colleagues from Georgia demanded voters to show photo IDs if they wanted to attend his political rallies. The Mayor of New York City – the face of today’s Democrat Party and an avowed socialist –told New Yorkers to bring two forms of ID in order to shovel snow. If you need an ID to get welfare, to attend a Democrat campaign rally, or shovel snow in New York City, you should absolutely need an ID to cast a ballot in the United States of America.
“Voter ID is the norm in democracies around the world. All but one country in Europe requires a government-issued photo voter ID to vote. Thirty-six states in America, including Wyoming, require voters to present an ID when arriving at the polls. It cannot be what Senator Schumer called ‘fringe ’to adopt a common practice in America and around the world. So why do Democrats continue to oppose the SAVE America Act? Who are they trying to protect?
“Yesterday, I spoke about the mess in Oregon. Oregon hands out driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. In Oregon, a driver’s license comes with automatic voter registration. As a result, from 2021 until 2024, hundreds of illegal immigrants were added onto Oregon’s voter rolls. Oregon is still scrambling to clean up this mess.
“When Americans hear stories like this, they lose faith in our elections. The real voter suppression threat is not photo ID but Americans losing trust in our elections. They lose trust when they learn that illegal immigrants are on the voter rolls.
“Photo IDs restore the trust our system needs. They reduce fraud. They send a simple message. Your vote matters. Elections are decided by your fellow citizens – not illegal immigrants. Democrats protect their own campaign rallies with ID requirements. Why do our elections deserve any less security than Democrats’ own campaign events? Not a single Democrat will come to this floor to say why.
“Every American should support elections that are fair, secure, and transparent.
“The SAVE America Act makes photo ID the law of the land. It is the best way to ensure our elections reflect the will of the American people. It is, by every measure, common sense. And that’s exactly why every Democrat in this chamber voted against it.”
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