-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, this week, the Senate took an important step by beginning debate on the SAVE America Act--a commonsense piece of legislation that safeguards our elections by implementing voter ID requirements and ensuring that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in our elections.
This is not a controversial idea. In fact, recent polling shows that over 70 percent of Americans support the bill.
Let me try that one more time. Over 70 percent of Americans support this bill. That means Republicans, Democrats, and Independents--over 70 percent.
That means that the American people agree that only eligible citizens should vote in our elections. It means the American people support voter ID as a reasonable and responsible safeguard.
The Presiding Officer was secretary of state in the Buckeye State-- huge State, millions of people. The Presiding Officer knows from his own experience that whether somebody is an Independent, whether they are Republican, whether they are Democrat, the law is that you have to be a citizen.
People want integrity--voter integrity--at the ballot box. This is a pretty fundamental concept, which is why Americans overwhelmingly support it.
The fact that you should have voter ID--just take voter ID. That is over 80 percent. I mean, think about it. Let's see. ID to get into a government building, to get a fishing license, to rent a hotel room, to rent a car. I mean, come on.
It just doesn't get any more fundamental; it doesn't make any more common sense. So it really shouldn't be a partisan issue. As I said, it is a commonsense issue, it is that simple, and this body should come together and vote and pass it.
So I urge our Democrat colleagues to join us and I guess just do what 70 to 80 percent of Americans want, what 70 percent of their own Democratic voters want. How about doing what their voters want--let alone ours--and the Independents?
So, somehow, the false choice they are bringing up there is that, gee whiz, if we do this, somehow you are denying voters access to the polls. Well, that is just not true. That is not true at all. In fact, when voters trust the process, they are more likely to participate. Think about it. If they trust the process, that makes them motivated to participate.
Again, it is not a burden to simply have a photo ID. They have to have it for everything else, so they certainly should have it when they vote.
For example, in my State of North Dakota, you know, elections are both secure and accessible. Our approach actually goes above and beyond. In North Dakota, my State, we already go beyond what is required in the legislation.
North Dakota officials across multiple State agencies conduct daily maintenance to ensure clean, updated, and accurate voter rolls. We also have a robust voter ID policy that requires an individual to provide a birth certificate, a passport, or a certificate of naturalization to get a driver's license. Now, this is to get a driver's license or a nondriver ID. But once you get that so you can drive your car, you are in great shape to vote.
Again, this is stuff that people have in their everyday lives, so to try to make it out that it is a problem--well, that just doesn't fly.
The American people expect us to protect the integrity of the election system.
Again, the Presiding Officer was secretary of state. That was his job every single day. But it is our job too. It is our job too. And the Voting Rights Act requires it, and that is exactly what this legislation does.
Americans support the SAVE America Act, and I urge our Democrat colleagues to join us in doing exactly what the American people are asking us to do, what they elected us to do.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source