The Senate will debate through the weekend legislation to prevent noncitizens from voting as Republicans continue to mull the best strategy for bringing the measure to a final vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, has not rushed to cut off debate on the SAVE America Act, like he would for most legislation.
The process for doing so, filing a cloture motion, requires 60 votes to end debate, meaning Democrats can block the legislation from advancing.
The SAVE America Act requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot.
Sen. Jon Husted, Ohio Republican, said after hearing Democrats repeatedly say during debate that they do not object to voter ID laws that exist in all but 14 states, he would try to separate that “common sense” idea that 80% of the American people support.
He offered a unanimous consent request to pass legislation requiring voters to show a photo ID issued by a state or tribal government, a U.S. passport or military ID at the polls.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon Democrat, objected, arguing that the voter ID requirement as written would “destroy the secret ballot” for the millions of Americans who vote by mail and would have to include a copy of their photo ID.
Mr. Husted pointed out that those states that allow vote by mail usually include two envelopes, one in which the ballot is concealed and the other to mail it in.
He said voters could include a copy of their photo ID in the larger envelope, without compromising the secrecy of the ballot.
Republicans have separately proposed an amendment to the SAVE America Act that would ban mail-in ballots unless a voter requests a hardship exemption.
That is one of the priorities President Trump has asked Republicans to add to the bill, along with provisions to ban transgender surgeries for minors and transgender athletes from playing in women’s sports.
Mr. Thune filed cloture Thursday evening on the sports amendment, which tees up a Saturday vote.
Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican and lead sponsor of the SAVE America Act, has urged Mr. Thune not to file cloture on the bill unless Republicans have flipped enough Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate.
Mr. Lee said he views that as a likelier outcome than fully exercising the talking filibuster to exhaust Democrats to the point where Republicans can call a final vote on the bill at a simple-majority threshold.
Mr. Thune has expressed doubt that either approach will lead to a successful outcome, but is letting the debate play out for now.
Sen. Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, released a lengthy statement Thursday explaining his opposition to the talking filibuster, saying there are only two ways out of it, and both will fail.
“The first is for Democrats to miraculously give up and allow Republicans to pass the bill with a simple majority,” said Mr. Tillis who is not seeking another term. “That is never going to happen, and anyone who claims it’s even a remote possibility is either completely misinformed or intentionally misleading the American people.”
The other way out is “for Republicans to substantially weaken or eliminate the filibuster altogether,” Mr. Tillis said.
He and several other Senate Republicans have said they would never vote to do that.
Mr. Tillis concluded: “The only real path to address the American people’s declining confidence in our elections is for both parties to find common ground on legislation that supports universal adoption of voter ID, proof of citizenship, and other vital election integrity measures.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.