Senate Democrats block Republican voter ID amendment, calling it a wolf in sheep’s clothing
Senate Democrats voted Thursday to defeat a Republican-backed amendment that would have required voters to show photo ID when casting ballots in person or by mail, blocking the measure 52-47 despite needing 60 votes to advance.
The amendment was sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), Ohio’s former secretary of state, and was introduced as a standalone piece of the broader Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act currently before the Senate. Husted framed his proposal as a simple, clean requirement allowing voters to present a driver’s license, state ID, passport, military veterans ID, or tribal ID.
Not a single Democrat crossed the aisle to support it.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who had said earlier this month that Democrats support voter ID requirements, took to the floor to draw a sharp distinction between what his party has previously supported and what Republicans were now pushing. “Republicans have an amendment on the floor dressed up as common-sense voter ID,” Schumer said. “This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and it’s a giant cover-up, which is voter suppression, kicking people off the rolls without their knowledge or consent.”
Schumer argued his central objection was not to voter ID itself but to a provision requiring mail-in voters to include a photocopy of their ID inside their ballot envelope, which he said would expose how a voter voted to election officials and shatter ballot secrecy. “The sacred secrecy of our ballot would be undone by this amendment,” Schumer said.
Husted pushed back, calling Schumer’s characterization a misrepresentation and pointing out that his amendment was narrowly drafted to address only photo ID requirements, not the broader SAVE Act provisions involving proof of citizenship documentation like birth certificates and passports.
Democrats have drawn a firm line between their own Freedom to Vote Act, which included a voter ID provision with broader accessibility protections, and the Republican version, which they argue is engineered to suppress turnout ahead of the midterms.