OPINION:
Democrats have been trying to steal our elections for the past several years. That’s why it is essential for Republicans in Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, even if the Senate has to nuke the filibuster to secure its passage.
After Joseph R. Biden was elected president, Democrats renewed their efforts to federalize elections — that is, to rig them in their favor. With the dubiously named “For the People Act” of 2019, liberals sought to force individual states to implement early voting, automatic voter registration, same-day registration, online voter registration and no-fault absentee balloting.
Under the legislation, a state’s voter rolls would have been polluted by large numbers of ineligible voters who were automatically registered from state databases, such as DMV and welfare offices. State election officials would have been banned from checking the eligibility and qualifications of voters and from removing ineligible voters from their rolls.
The bill would have allowed individuals in any state to vote without an ID and required states to restore felons’ voting rights. By reducing the number of Federal Election Commission members from six to five, the legislation would allow the political party with three seats to control the commission, thereby engaging in partisan enforcement decisions.
Mr. Biden was so invested in the bill that he dedicated an entire prime-time speech to it in 2022. He framed Democratic efforts as “saving American democracy” from MAGA Republicans who were bound and determined to destroy it. Liberals demanded that the Senate end the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to pass legislation, to codify the act.
If it weren’t for two Democratic holdouts — Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — they would have done so.
Democrats are consistent in one thing only: They will do anything to win and hold on to power, even if that means they have to lie, cheat or steal. They believe sloppy elections benefit them, so at every turn, they have rejected efforts to ensure election integrity.
Republicans control the White House and have a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, so it’s imperative for them to pass the SAVE Act now, while they still have power. Democrats will reintroduce their For the People Act as soon as they win back the chambers, and with the retirement of Mr. Manchin and Ms. Sinema, will likely nuke the filibuster to ensure its passage.
The SAVE Act is simple: It mandates that states require physical documentation (such as a passport, birth certificate or naturalization certificate) for all new voter registrations. States also will be required to take “affirmative steps” to identify and remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls.
“What Republicans are trying to do is engage in clear and blatant voter suppression,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” in describing the bill Sunday. “They know if there is a free and fair election in November, they’re going to lose. … What Donald Trump wants to do is try to nationalize the election — translation, steal it.”
Setting aside the hypocrisy of Democratic efforts to nationalize the election under Mr. Biden (championed at the time by Mr. Jeffries), requiring voter ID to register to vote is an extremely popular policy endorsed by the majority of Americans.
According to a Pew Research Poll, 83% of U.S. citizens support voter photo ID, including 71% of Democrats and 95% of Republicans. Seventy-one percent of Black Americans support voter ID, and 86% of Hispanics.
This shouldn’t even be a debate. It’s commonsense legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said the SAVE Act “would impose Jim Crow-type laws on the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate.”
It seems that, in any election integrity effort, the Democrats are linked to Jim Crow. Recall how Mr. Biden called Georgia’s election integrity efforts in 2021 “Jim Crow 2.0.” Turns out, in the first election primaries after the election law took effect, there was record turnout. Early voting increased nearly threefold from 2018 and more than doubled from 2020, a presidential election year.
Black voters cast 100,000 more early ballots than in 2018.
The Republican aims are simple: Make it easy to vote but hard to cheat. That’s why they must pass the SAVE Act, even if they have to nuke the filibuster to do so. Democrats won’t hold back when they resume power, so neither should Republicans now.
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.
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