On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith offered an amendment to affirm the constitutionality of state Voter ID laws as the Senate Rules Committee began its markup of S.1, the massive Democrat legislation to federalize elections.
Hyde-Smith said, “As written, S.1 would effectively undermine all state Voter ID laws, including Mississippi’s popular and successful statute, and instead allow a person to vote without any proof of identity or residency.”
“This amendment would require any ballot cast without meeting state voter ID requirements to be considered a provisional ballot. This would permit states like Mississippi to continue to enforce their Voter ID laws, which have proven successful in preventing fraud and promoting the integrity of elections,” Hyde-Smith said. “Voter ID is Constitutional, popular, and doesn’t hold any legal voter back from the polls. Instead, Voter ID functions to ensure that nobody is voting illegally.”
This Hyde-Smith amendment would do three specific things:
- Amend the law so any vote cast with a “sworn statement” instead of with Voter ID would be considered a provisional ballot. This is consistent with Mississippi law, where voters without ID can instead cast a provisional ballot.
- Add findings about the constitutionality of Voter ID laws.
- Add findings about public polling on the popularity of Voter ID laws.
According to Fox News, Democrats say the “For The People Act” would expand access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of money in politics, and implement anti-corruption measures for fortifying democracy. Republicans feel it is a Democratic power grab that would tilt elections in the Democratic Party’s favor for years to come.
