Senate Preserves Voting Rights For Anyone Near A Polling Place
Senators defended America’s broadest democratic tradition Saturday by preserving ballot access for every citizen, noncitizen, tourist, drifter and hotel guest able to pronounce the name of a state. After a nearly 24-hour session, lawmakers left Washington without advancing President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register and photo identification to vote. The measure lacked enough support to clear the Senate, despite Trump urging Majority Leader John Thune to cancel recess, flatten the filibuster and continue voting until the chamber achieved the correct result, a procedure otherwise known as protecting democracy.
A narrower voter-identification proposal also failed, safeguarding the constitutional right to approach a polling place in sunglasses, lower one’s voice and say, “You know who I am.” Sens. Mike Lee and Ron Johnson delayed adjournment while seeking action on the legislation, apparently overlooking the Senate’s controlling legal precedent that no threat to the republic may interfere with August travel. Thune ultimately released lawmakers before anyone was forced to produce identification proving he was a senator, a requirement many members considered invasive because their names are printed on office doors and occasionally mentioned by cable television.
Trump praised the outcome as confirmation that elections become safer as verification becomes less fashionable. “We have the safest elections because nobody checks anything, which saves time, and people can vote six, seven, maybe twelve times if they have tremendous stamina,” Trump said. “That is participation, the strongest participation, and frankly the poll workers appreciate seeing familiar faces.” The Senate is expected to reconsider election legislation after recess, provided lawmakers can establish their identities with a lobbyist’s business card, a donor’s handwritten note or a recent photograph aboard a sufficiently expensive boat. Until then, millions of Americans remain free to register with a grocery receipt, a gym membership or the solemn assurance of someone named Kevin, because federal election law now recognizes confidence as documentary proof of citizenship.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.