Republicans have hit a wall in their efforts to pass a voter ID law that would ensure only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, House Republicans unveiled funding legislation designed to pay for the government over the next six months but attached The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act to the legislation.
Specifically, “the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.”
Tightening voter ID laws has been a concern for Republican constituents, with many urging the GOP to shore up election integrity laws before the November elections.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., voiced his steadfast intention to hold the line, telling reporters on Monday, “This is a righteous fight,” noting that the GOP does not have a backup plan if the bill folds.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the lead author of the bill, echoed his support adding, “If you want to mobilize voters and get people to turn out, we need to stand up and fight.”
Republicans only hold a one-vote majority in the House, so any defection will cause the bill to fail. It is unclear how many Democrats in blue-collar swing districts might defect to push the bill over the finish line, yet is still unlikely to pass the Senate.
One Republican who has already publicly voiced his displeasure with Johnson’s move is Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
“I refuse to be a thespian in the Speaker’s failure theater. The 6-month continuing resolution with the SAVE Act attached is an insult to Americans’ intelligence. The CR doesn’t cut spending, and the shiny object attached to it will be dropped like a hot potato before passage,” Massie posted on X Monday evening.
The White House has indicated that President Joe Biden would veto the bill even if it makes it through the Senate, saying that the states “already have effective safeguards in place to verify voters’ eligibility.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., likewise dismissed Johnson’s proposal as purely a political play, saying the bill is “transparently unserious and seemingly designed for scoring political points instead of avoiding a shutdown.”
As of April, 35 states require some form of ID to vote on election day and less than half the states, 24, require a photo identification.
The remaining 15 states do not require any form of ID to vote in person on election day, Newsweek noted.
