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Floor Speech

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Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Utah for his great leadership on this.

Last night, we had a moment of clarity in this Chamber. Senate Democrats were given the simplest possible test--a clean, standalone vote on voter ID, with nothing attached, with nothing complicated, and just one question: Do you believe only American citizens with a valid ID should decide American elections?

With nowhere to hide, they voted it down. In doing so, they told every American exactly where they stand.

Now, I understand their concerns about the provisions in the SAVE Act as to the proof of citizenship and stronger guardrails around absentee ballots, and those deserve honest debate; but there is simply no excuse for rejecting basic voter identification when 70 percent of Democrats-- their own voters, the people who sent them here--support it. There are 70 percent of Democrats who support voter ID. This vote was very clarifying; it was unmasking.

I want everyone who is at home tonight enjoying March Madness to think about your situation personally for a moment. You know what it is like to vote. You leave work. You go and vote. You stand in line. You fill out your ballot. You drive home. You are late for dinner. You did everything right. But on the way home, you think to yourself: Oh, my gosh. Somewhere out there, someone with no legal right to vote canceled my vote. My vote is gone--neutralized like it never happened.

Now, that should make every American angry regardless of your party. I think it is important to stop and think why--why people are concerned about this--and what we are actually dealing with here.

There are 50 million noncitizens living in this country. There are 50 million noncitizens living in this country--some are legal; some are illegal--out of 330 million. We have four States that are automatically registering people to vote when they interact with government services.

Let me say that again. Four States are automatically registering people to vote--regardless of their citizenship--when they interact with government services.

We have no reliable national system to verify citizenship at the ballot box. That is not fearmongering. That is just the truth. Maybe that is why 80 percent of Americans support voter ID. We can't get 80 percent of Americans to agree on whether a hamburger is better than chicken or if peanut butter is better than jelly, but 80 percent of Americans support voter ID. It is just common sense. Like I said earlier, 70 percent of Democrats agree with them as well.

Now, as I sat and listened to the arguments on the floor last night, we saw Democrats dodging and weaving like Muhammad Ali at the Thrilla in Manila, never once addressing voter ID itself. It was amazing to sit here and watch them squirm and refuse to answer the question at hand: Do they support voter ID or not?

So I had to pause, and we have plenty of time to think this weekend and ask a fundamental question. One of those questions we didn't get to talk about much in med school, but the question I ask myself is: What actually sustains a Republic? What are we really fighting for?

Well, I think, No. 1, at the top of this is safe and secure elections.

These are not a Republican issue, and they are not a conservative talking point. They are the beating heart of democracy itself.

So, last night, I sat down and penciled out what I believe are at least seven of the sacred pillars that uphold our entire system of self-government. If I could, I would like to walk through them because, when any one of these pillars is weakened, the whole temple of liberty trembles.

First and foremost are free and fair elections. The sacred cornerstone of our Republic are safe, secure, honest elections defended by integrity, universal suffrage, the secret ballot, and the peaceful transfer of power. This is the voice of the people itself. Without it, democracy does not stumble; it dies.

Next is the rule of law, the unyielding bedrock of equality under justice. No person, no party, no elite stands above the law. Lose a single pillar and every other freedom collapses.

Next is the separation of powers with checks and balances. We see that every day up here, the masterful architecture of liberty itself, forged by genius, to chain ambition and prevent any single branch from devouring our freedoms.

Next is an independent and impartial judiciary, the fearless bulwark of due process and constitutional fidelity, the final guardian of justice protecting the weak, the innocent, and the Constitution against the storms of fleeting majorities.

Next is the protection of fundamental rights and civil liberties, including free speech, a free press, assembly, association, and religion. These are sacred, God-given, and must burn undimmed forever.

Next is the sanctity of private property, the moral and economic foundation of human dignity.

Finally, political pluralism, transparency, accountability, and active citizenship participation.

Election integrity is not just one of these pillars. It is the foundation beneath all of them. Every debate in this Chamber, every vote, every piece of legislation, all of it rests on the assumption that the people in these seats were put here legitimately by the voters of their States.

I cannot get past the simple fact in this country that we have collectively decided you need a photo ID to board a plane. Remember, trust but verify. I walk up to the plane, and they all know I am Senator Roger Marshall, but they make me verify who I am.

When you check into a hotel, when you buy certain medications, when you open a bank account, when you pick up a prescription, when you apply for government benefits, you have to show an ID. But with your vote--the single most important thing you do as a citizen--we are told that asking for an ID is somehow voter oppression, which certainly has not been proven to be true in the multiple States that already have voter ID.

Again, it doesn't make sense, and the American people know it doesn't make sense. That is why 80 percent of them support voter ID.

I am willing to come to the table. There are parts of this bill that we can work out. I am not asking anyone to take it or leave it, but, first, answer the premise of this entire debate. We don't get anywhere if you don't recognize the importance of voter ID.

So here is the question: Do you believe only American citizens should decide American elections?

I am going to say it again: Do you believe only American citizens should decide American elections? Because until we get a straight answer to that, nothing else matters.

What gives us the best chance right now is getting 10 Democrats to come across the aisle and do the right thing. Again, if 70 percent of their own voters support voter ID, you would think 10 Senate Democrats would do the same thing; that somewhere in that caucus are 10 Senators who are willing to listen to the people who sent them here. If we could get just 10 of them to stand with us--to stand with their own constituents--on this one thing, then let's keep talking. Let's work out the rest together.

So I am going to say it a third time and a fourth time. I have no regrets in saying it again.

Last night, Senate Democrats voted against voter ID. Now, I have only heard two Democrats ever publicly--on this floor or anywhere--say they support voter ID, only 2 of the 47 Senate Democrats. The national media needs to ask the rest of them directly on camera: Why don't you support voter ID? And when they dodge and deflect, that answer should be put out for the rest of America to see. The American people deserve to know their vote counts. They deserve to know that the person casting the ballot next to them has every right to be there. They deserve a system they can trust.

We are going to keep fighting because the American people deserve better than the answer we got last night.

I yield to the Senator from Utah.

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