WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Senate is expected to take up a Republican-led voter ID bill as soon as next week, Alabama’s senators say they’re eager to find a way to get the legislation across the finish line.
President Donald Trump and his ardent supporters have been hammering Senate Republicans to take up the SAVE America Act, which would require Americans to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections and implement photo ID requirements at the polls.
A barrage of social media posts from the bill’s backers has filled senators’ online pages, urging lawmakers to pass the sweeping election bill.
On Wednesday, Trump ratcheted up pressure on Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., to find the votes to pass the bill through the upper chamber.
“He’s got to be a leader,” Trump told reporters, referring to Thune. “It’s the most popular bill I’ve ever seen put before Congress, and it’s voter ID. You have to be able to be a citizen to vote. It’s called citizenship,” he added.
Thune has so far conveyed that the measure’s chances of passing are slim. Republicans are splintered on whether they support getting rid of the filibuster completely or using the talking filibuster, a maneuver to try to pass the bill with a simple majority.
Traditionally, legislation requires 60 votes to end debate and pass bills in the Senate. Not all Republicans are on board with the SAVE America Act. Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have not signed on as cosponsors.
Democrats remain squarely opposed to the legislation. They argue the bill will disenfranchise millions of American voters. Noncitizens are already barred from voting in federal elections.
“For better or worse, I’m the one who has to be the clear-eyed realist of what we can achieve here,” Thune said Tuesday. “I can guarantee the debate. I can guarantee a vote. I just can’t guarantee an outcome.”
U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, R-Ala., support the talking filibuster method for the SAVE America Act. It could bypass the need for any Democratic votes, but it would require lawmakers to be present on the Senate floor, continuously debating the legislation. The practice would include long hours of debate and unlimited amendments, which would eat away at the time that lawmakers could spend considering other legislation or nominations.
Tuberville, a staunch supporter of the voter ID bill, who supports nuking the filibuster completely, acknowledged a murky path lies ahead.
“That talking filibuster is about as far away as getting the whole thing passed,” he told Alabama Daily News. “I don’t think they’ll ever fly, but we’ve got to try. We’ve got to find out where people are at.”
Alabama’s junior senator is also strongly backing the GOP election bill.
“I know that there is nothing more important than Americans having faith in their elections,” Britt told reporters on a call Wednesday.
She recently corrected a “blatantly false” Fox News report that wrongly said Britt would not support a talking filibuster on the issue.
“I’ve done some work a number of weeks ago on what it would take for us to use the talking filibuster so that we could create a strategy around that,” Britt told ADN, adding that she’s been working with the bill’s sponsor to figure out how to make it work on the floor.
Trump has also pushed senators to add other provisions to the bill that would address more of his priorities, including a ban on all mail-in voting. He also called for the legislation to include a ban on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports and restrict gender reassignment surgeries for minors.
The House already passed the SAVE America Act last month along party lines. The bill does not include any extra provisions that Trump now wants to see.
The president has also vowed not to sign any legislation, except for Department of Homeland Security funding, until Congress passes the election bill.
Alabama’s Republican U.S. Senate candidates have also told ADN that they would support a talking filibuster to pass the voter ID measure.
Adding fuel to Trump’s effort, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tx., who is facing a stiff reelection battle, flipped his stance on the filibuster Wednesday. He published an op-ed explaining why he now supports getting rid of the practice after he previously fully backed keeping the filibuster intact.
It’s not clear yet how the Senate will handle debate on the SAVE America Act when they take up the legislation.