SAVE America Act Thrusts Ohio Lawmakers Into the News

The White House reaffirmed Wednesday that passing the SAVE America Act remains a top priority of President Donald Trump.

While the bill passed the House over a month ago, the Senate battle over voter ID remains relevant for members in the chamber from Ohio, especially vulnerable Democrat incumbents facing reelection.

Ohio Sen. Jon Husted is now offering an amendment that will help make clear where his Democrat colleagues stand.

The Husted Amendment

On Thursday, the Senate will vote on a leadership-backed amendment from Husted for a clean photo ID requirement. Cloture for the amendment was filed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who on Wednesday spoke from the Senate floor about his support for the amendment, framing it as an opportunity for Democrats to show their support for the provision.

In promoting his amendment, Husted shared over X how several states represented by Democrat senators already require voter ID.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has spoken out against the amendment. As Tony Kinnett highlighted on Tuesday’s episode of “The Tony Kinnett Cast,” the Democrat he refers to as “Chuckles Schumer” was apoplectic in ranting his concerns from the Senate floor, which included claims of “a giant cover up.”

Schumer whined about how “98, 99% of [the SAVE America Act] is about suppressing voters, about taking them off the voter rolls, unbeknownst to them…”

As Kinnett pointed out, an examination of voter rolls from several states that gave their information to the Department of Justice, which includes Ohio, over 300,000 people were found to have been dead and yet still on the rolls. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon also warned that illegal immigrants have been on the voter rolls.

Time will tell if Schumer’s concerns are shared by the rest of his party, given that Democrats have signaled support for the photo ID provision.

Landsman’s Claims

Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, has lashed out against election integrity laws, including in his own state, and, more recently, about a provision in the SAVE America Act about registering to vote.

A clip from Local 12 in Cincinnati shows Landsman claiming it’s “absurd” that people would have to prove they’re a citizen as part of registering to vote.

“It would stop tens of millions of Americans from voting, truly. You would have to prove you’re a citizen before you can register to vote, which is absurd, and then most of the IDs that people have wouldn’t work so, again, tens of millions of Americans would be prevented from voting,” Landsman said.

The congressman’s comments received the attention of the RNC.

“Greg Landsman may think it’s ‘absurd’ that only American citizens should vote in American elections, but Ohioans overwhelmingly support commonsense safeguards to protect our elections. While Landsman fights to keep illegal aliens on voter rolls, Republicans are working tirelessly to pass the SAVE America Act to secure our elections and make it harder to cheat,” RNC spokesman Hunter Lovell shared exclusively with The Daily Signal.

From the Senate floor, Husted has promoted voter ID provisions in the context of how “there has been no evidence of voter suppression” and touted his state’s high voter turnout in recent years with election integrity measures in place.

The Daily Signal also reached out to Landsman’s office about his comments.

What the Polling Says

According to last month’s polling from Heritage Action, provisions in this bill are popular with voters in key states, including Ohio.

As the poll found, 69% of all voters, including 66% of Democrats, believe non-citizens should not vote in U.S. elections. Further, 71% of all voters, including 55% of Democrats, support requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

The White House earlier this month, in declaring, “The SAVE America Act Is the Most Popular Election Reform in Decades,” highlighted how “Proving citizenship to vote is a no-brainer.”

According to last month’s poll from Harvard CAPS/Harris that the White House referenced, 81% of voters support requiring a valid ID to vote. Further, 75% of voters support requiring proof of citizenship, which includes 61% of Democrats. When asked specifically about the SAVE America Act, 71% of voters say they support the bill.

The White House also referenced The Heritage Foundation, including analysis from 2007 that found “voter identification requirements, such as requiring non-photo and photo identification, have virtually no suppressive effect on reported voter turnout.”

Further, the Heritage Action poll found that 69% of Ohio voters, including 55% of Democrats, support removing non-citizens from voter rolls.

The Heritage Action poll also matters to Husted in particular ahead of his special election in November.

Asked if voters would be more likely to support their senators if they voted for the SAVE America Act, 55% said they were more likely to support their senator, including 37% who said it made them “much more likely.”

Husted was appointed in January of last year by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to replace now Vice President JD Vance. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who lost to now Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024, is seeking a comeback.

The post SAVE America Act Thrusts Ohio Lawmakers Into the News appeared first on The Daily Signal.