SouthernWorldwide.com – Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, has voiced strong disapproval of four fellow Republican senators who sided with Democrats to block the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. This act, a voter ID law backed by former President Trump, was an amendment intended to be added to the Senate’s reconciliation package.
During the vote-a-rama session held on Thursday, Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina voted against the amendment. Their votes, in conjunction with the Democratic caucus, led to the defeat of the election-integrity measure, which was proposed as an addition to the Republican budget package.
Hawley expressed his bewilderment at the decision, stating, “you can’t explain it to me why you wouldn’t vote for voter ID.” He further elaborated on the perceived popularity of voter identification laws, noting that “Voter ID is the most popular thing out there.”
He continued to emphasize the public’s desire for secure and fair elections. “People want their elections to be safe, they want them to be fair. And to me, you can’t explain it to me, why you wouldn’t vote for voter ID. I just don’t understand it,” Hawley stated.
This marks another instance where Republicans have failed to pass the legislation in the Senate. The attempt was made despite months of debate surrounding the importance of attaching the SAVE Act to the approximately $70 billion budget reconciliation package. This package is intended to fund agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.
Many senators who voted to block the SAVE Act argued that legislation focusing on voter ID laws and election integrity should be a matter for individual states to decide, rather than being subject to federal jurisdiction. They contended that such issues fall outside the purview of federal oversight.
However, Hawley refuted the notion that election rules should be exclusively determined at the state level. He pointed to the historical role Congress has played in regulating federal elections. “We make federal rules all the time for elections, you know,” Hawley asserted.
He elaborated on this point, saying, “I mean all the time we do. And there’s nothing more basic than protecting the integrity of the ballot and that’s what this is about.”
Historically, Congress has passed numerous laws related to elections. A notable example is the bipartisan Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022, which modified the procedures for certifying presidential election results. This demonstrates a precedent for federal involvement in election processes.
The SAVE Act, as proposed, would mandate that individuals provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Furthermore, it would require voters to present photo identification when casting their ballot in these federal elections.
Addressing the argument that election rules are best left to the states, Hawley highlighted the widespread adoption of voter ID laws. “37 states have voter ID already including several blue states,” he remarked. He dismissed the idea that such measures are unusual or controversial, stating, “So I think this idea that this is like ‘this is weird, this is exotic, this is out there,’ no it’s not. Like most of our states do it.”
Hawley concluded with a forward-looking statement, suggesting that the implementation of such laws is inevitable. “Sooner or later this is going to happen because I think the American people are going to demand it,” he predicted.
