It’s Time to Pass “The Save America Act” from Representative Byron Donalds

For more than one hundred years, our forefathers endured the unchecked power of tyrannical, old-world monarchs as they abused, suppressed, and exploited the masses. They dreamed of a better future for humanity; they dreamed of a form of government that put its people first; they dreamed of democracy; and in 1776, they changed the world.

The most important part of being an American is our voting franchise. It’s one of the core tenets of the founding of our Constitutional Republic and it must be protected at all costs. S.1383 – “The Save America Act” does just that. This is why, on February 12th, I joined my House colleagues in voting to pass this critical legislation.

The premise of this bill is simple: Only United States citizens should be allowed to vote in United States elections, and you should have to confirm your identity before you vote. In modern American life, ID is required for marriage licenses, bank accounts, credit cards, adopting pets, visiting schools, picking-up packages, donating blood, applying for government assistance, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, getting a job, buying a house or car, renting a hotel room, cell phone plans, guns, hunting and fishing licenses, medical visits, airports, alcohol cigarettes, etc. Just weeks ago, New York City even required two forms of ID verification before allowing New Yorkers to participate in their emergency volunteer snow shoveling program. Yet elected Democrats believe that presenting an ID before voting is a bridge too far.

In California, leftist state government officials have gone so far as to outlaw the practice of ID verification prior to voting. This insanity must end. Voter ID is the global standard for election integrity used in more than 70 percent of countries. 83 percent of the American people support this commonsense security measure–including 95 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Democrats. Such broad, bipartisan support should mean “The Save America Act” passes swiftly through Congress and becomes law, but you would be mistaken. For the past two years, Congressional Democrats have repeatedly voted the measure down–time after time, swiping their Congressional voter IDs to do so. Make that make sense.

As we shift gears to this Spring’s legislative docket, “The Save America Act” is now in the hands of the United States Senate. In his February 24th State of the Union Address, President Trump made his position clear: “I’m asking you to approve the ‘Save America Act,’ to stop illegal aliens and others who are unpermitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections, the cheating is rampant in our elections.

It’s rampant. It’s very simple. All voters must show voter ID.”

Our united House Republican Caucus stands in lockstep with President Trump and his administration. This is not controversial–in fact this is bipartisan and widely supported. It’s time to end the fraud; it’s time for meaningful election integrity reform; it’s time for the government to put the American people first; it’s time for the Senate to PASS “THE SAVE AMERICA ACT” NOW.