Thune Calls Out Senate Democrats’ Hypocritical Opposition to Voter ID

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"Mr. President, we spent the weeks before Easter debating the SAVE America Act here in the Senate.

"And since the debate began, we've seen Democrats contort themselves every which way to justify opposing the commonsense policies in this bill.

"On no issue is that more evident than voter ID.

"Mr. President, polls show that 80 percent of Americans support voter ID.

"Majorities of Americans in both parties support this commonsense requirement.

"But among Democrats here in the Senate, it's a different story.

"Sure, Democrats have spent the last few weeks claiming that they support voter ID.

"But when it came time to vote on a reasonable, stand-alone voter ID proposal, every Democrat opposed it.

"That's right, Mr. President.

"Senate Democrats have been trying to rebrand themselves as supporters of voter ID.

"But when Republicans offered a straightforward voter ID proposal, every single Democrat in the Senate voted against it.

"Mr. President, I want to be clear about what Republicans put forward - and what Democrats opposed.

"Senator Husted - someone who knows quite a bit about administering elections as the former two-term chief election official in the state of Ohio - offered a very simple voter ID amendment.

"The only - only - thing it did: require a photo ID at the polls.

"A driver's license. Tribal ID. Military ID. Veteran ID. Passport.

"The types of IDs that are sitting in wallets right now, and that the American people use on a regular basis.

"That's it.

"Supporting this amendment would not have obliged Democrats to support the underlying SAVE America Act.

"Democrats would have been free to vote for voter ID and then vote against the other commonsense policies in the SAVE America Act.

"But Democrats couldn't bring themselves to vote even for stand-alone voter ID legislation.

"And it turns out that when Democrats say they support voter ID … they don't mean actual IDs.

"Mr. President, when Republicans - and Americans, I would argue - talk about ID, we all mean the same thing.

"Something with a picture.

"An expiration date.

"Something issued by a government.

"And to hear Democrats talk in the lead-up to the voter ID vote, you'd have thought that's exactly what they were talking about too.

"The senior senator from New Jersey went on CNN and said, and I quote, 'we all want people, who go to vote, to show a valid ID.'

"The Democrat whip said, and I quote again, 'I'm not opposed to that. They ask you for an ID at the airport, don't they? That's reasonable.'

"Yes, it is reasonable.

"The junior Democrat from New York said this, and again I quote, 'The IDs that we have in our wallets should be good enough to vote.'

"Well, Mr. President, that is exactly what we offered.

"Licenses, state ID cards, tribal IDs were all acceptable forms of ID in our proposal - the same kinds of ID that we have in our wallets right now.

"Mr. President, multiple Democrat senators even acknowledged that their own states have voter ID requirements and that they work!

"The junior senator from Georgia came to the floor and said this, and I quote again, 'I think you should have to prove that you are who you say you are before you vote. I support voter ID. We have voter ID laws in my state. You should have to prove that you are who you say you are before you vote.'

"I couldn't have said it better myself.

"And the Democrat leader said, and I quote, 'our objection, as Democrats, is not to a photo ID.'

"Except as Democrats' recent vote demonstrates, that's not actually true.

"Before the vote, the Democrat leader spoke on the floor and made it clear that when he says he supports voter ID, he means that he supports voter ID … as long as the ID requirements in question are essentially meaningless.

"And he's not the only one.

"To quote a recent news story, the junior senator from Colorado said, and I quote, 'he supports voter ID but signaled he will vote no when informed that the bill does not allow voters to use a utility bill to prove identity.'

"He voted no because you can't show a utility bill as a form of ID.

"Mr. President, you can't make this stuff up.

"The senator from Colorado used to own a brewery in Denver.

"And I have to wonder whether you could show a utility bill to buy a beer there.

"I doubt it.

"But this is what Democrats think is good enough for our elections.

"The Democrat leader has said that voter ID requirements need to be 'inclusive' and 'flexible.'

"And he referenced a bill Democrats put forward a few years ago that included the sort of ID requirements that he says Democrats support.

"Well, let me read a few of the so-called IDs that that bill would have found acceptable for voters.

"A debit card.

"A utility bill.

"An expired fishing license.

"Any document containing an individual's name - just their name - from any government.

"And, of course, a photocopy of any of those would have been fine too.

"If this ID list were any more 'inclusive,' Mr. President, my Jones County High School basketball jersey would have counted.

"Mr. President, in any other circumstance, requiring an ID means requiring an actual - actual - ID.

"You can't board a plane by showing a photocopy of your debit card!

"You can't do an early pick-up at your daughter's school by showing a copy of your electric bill.

"Mr. President, Republicans believe that we should apply the same standard to voting.

"The American people are presenting their photo IDs on a regular basis and having a pretty easy go of it.

"We don't think it's too much to ask for the same when they go to vote.

"Mr. President, ask anyone on the street for their ID, chances are they're going to pull out their driver's license - not their water bill.

"The American people know what an ID is.

"I guess we're still waiting for Democrats here in the Senate to figure it out."

Permalink: https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/4/thune-calls-out-senate-democrats-hypocritical-opposition-to-voter-id