House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress will try for a fourth, and possibly final time, to pass the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot.
Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said that the House will take up the bill after lawmakers return from the July 4 recess and that he believes President Trump will accept a version that does not include provisions limiting mail-in ballots and restricting transgender athletes and transgender medical care for minors.
“If we can get proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote, that eliminates so much of the problem, all the fraud, and everything that everybody’s concerned about in our elections, particularly, frankly, in these blue states,” Mr. Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday.”
The SAVE Act has stalled for weeks, largely due to opposition from a handful of Republicans in the Senate.
Mr. Johnson said the House, which has passed a version of the bill three times, has a plan to win enough support in the Senate to finally pass the bill with a simple majority under the budget reconciliation procedure.
“What we’re planning to do is send over a bill that will be irresistible for any Republican. Really incredible piece of legislation that will get the job done, meaning that we will continue to increase affordability, we will reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in government, and we’ll secure elections,” Mr. Johnson said. “Every Republican would vote for that if packaged correctly, and that’s what we’re planning to do right now.”
Mr. Johnson said Republican opposition to the bill by Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, among others, is “based on what they think may be in it.”
Ms. Murkowski said she opposes the legislation in part because it would require implementing the new rules in the middle of an election cycle and with no federal resources to do it.
“States would be forced to bear the entire cost of implementation right away — just right away. So this is a tall order. Again, you are trying to stand all of this up while we are in the midst of an active election year,” Ms. Murkowski said in a Senate floor speech.
Mr. Trump urged passage of the SAVE Act in his July 4 speech late Saturday on the National Mall.
He tied the voter ID bill to keeping America great. He said the legislation should not only require voter identification but also eliminate mail-in ballots except in cases of illness, disability, military deployment or travel.
“And you won’t have cheating on the elections anymore. It’s very simple,” Mr. Trump said.
Election offices in the United States are increasingly allowing mail-in ballots for any reason, and eight states conduct elections entirely by mail.
In California, the results of the recent gubernatorial primary were delayed for days to allow the counting of ballots received by mail five days after the election. Most of the late ballots supported Democrats.
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