WASHINGTON, DC - US Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair, joined Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY), Republican Policy Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and Senator Jon Husted (R-OH) at a press conference Saturday morning as the Senate continues working through the weekend on the SAVE America Act and efforts to restore Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding.

Lankford's remarks (as delivered):

"So this is the challenge that we face today. We have the Department of Homeland Security closed right now because apparently my Democratic colleagues are more afraid of ICE than they are of Iran. And the challenges that we face now in the conflict internationally, that we know that we have threats back to the homeland. But my Democratic colleagues in the Senate just refused to even pay attention to that at all.

"Stacked on top of that is the issue we've been talking about for weeks, and we're still working through this weekend to be able to negotiate. And that is the most basic thing in American life: voting. The 1965 Voting Rights Act begins with 'All citizens.' This should not be controversial. It is already federal law that requires only citizens vote in the United States.

"We trust that they sign up as only citizens, but we're not verifying except in a few states. About nine states actually do verification of citizenship all over the country. And you know what? They still have people show up to vote. Thirty-six states require voter ID to be able to show up to vote, including my own state. My own state requires voter ID.

"Whether you do mail-in voting or in-person voting, you have to have voter ID in that. This is not complicated. This is simple and straightforward. It's not even controversial, except in Washington, DC. Across the country, if you were to ask anyone, 'Should you show an ID to be able to vote?' They would say, 'Well, yeah, that shouldn't be a problem on that.'

"Should you ask the simple question, 'Should only American citizens vote?' And they would say, 'Of course that should be so.' But for some reason that's controversial among Democrats in Washington, DC. This is simple. This is straightforward. It's why we continue to be able to push this commonsense legislation that the American people want us to get done."

Background

Lankford has remained a vocal supporter of both the SAVE America Act as a cosponsor and of its predecessor, S.128, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The SAVE America Act sets requirements for states to verify US citizenship in order to register to vote and require photo ID to vote. Additionally, the bill compels states to purge non-citizens from voter rolls and establishes federal penalties for intentionally registering non-citizens.

Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution states that elections are governed by state law, allowing state legislatures to prescribe the time, place, and manner of elections held within their states. However, it is also federal law that no one can vote in an American election who is not a United States citizen.

You can watch his remarks HERE. You can download it HERE.

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