Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Republicans Pushing Another MAGA Voter Suppression Amendment

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor on Republicans' attempts to disguise the SAVE Act as a voter ID bill, when it will disenfranchise millions of Americans and make it harder to vote. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Today, Leader Thune is going to appease the MAGA far-right with another amendment Republicans claim is about commonsense voter ID.

But let's be very clear-this amendment is a giant cover-up. It was never in the original bill. Ninety nine percent of the bill is about suppressing voters. About taking them off the voter rolls unbeknownst to them so they cannot vote.

The bottom line is very simple: 99% of this bill has nothing to do with voter ID, what a voter does when they arrive at the polling place to vote. The vast majority of this bill, the overwhelming bulk, is about suppressing people on the voter rolls, taking them off, not even knowing about it. And it's a cover-up.

When the Republicans saw that everyone saw through their so-called voter ID bill - which is not about voter ID but about suppressing the vote - they got worried, so they added this amendment to the original bill.

And now Leader Thune is going to ask for a vote on it. But it is a cover-up to cover up what is a giant voter suppression bill. That's the real purpose. That's what 99% or so of this bill does. But they can't say that, because it's so devastatingly wrong, unconstitutional, and unpopular with the American people. So they're trying to cover up with this amendment. And let me talk about the amendment.

Republicans say their amendment is a reasonable approach to voter ID. It's not. It's not true when you look under the hood.

What Republicans won't tell you is that first, this MAGA voter ID proposal is more sweeping and restrictive than every state, every state, Democrat or Republican. So, Republican Senators, this will make it even harder for people to identify themselves in you states.

This amendment would preempt all state laws, and was drafted by an MAGA think tank "expert" who was part of the Trump campaign's 2020 fake elector scheme.

Second: MAGA's Voter ID provision would block student, veterans, and other state and federal IDs. Can you imagine? Under this amendment you can't use your veteran ID after you have served your country and you want to come back and vote. And you show your voter ID, which has been used for so many different legitimate purposes, and they say, "nope doesn't meet this new law."

Third, Democrats support common-sense voter ID standards - states require varying forms of voter identification, either at registration, at the polls, or both. We support those. Democrats' Freedom to Vote Act from a few years ago set flexible, comprehensive standards based on West Virginia's then-law for voter ID requirements. It was something, I think, that Senator Manchin talked about and helped get written into the bill. Our's is supposed to help people vote by making ID within reach. Theirs is very limiting, it doesn't even allow soldier's ID as a mechanism.

Our bill, our proposal, the Democratic Freedom to Vote Act from a few years back, provided flexibility for states and inclusive options for voters. That is a commonsense approach to election integrity and voter access. This Republican amendment, however, is not. As I said, this is a giant cover-up to disguise the real purpose of the SAVE act, which is to kick 20 million people off the voter rolls, most of them not even knowing that it's happened to them.

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