Senator Banks on SAVE America Act: "How is This a Debate?"
Senator Banks on SAVE America Act: “How is This Even a Debate?”
WASHINGTON–One of the key pieces of legislation being discussed by lawmakers is the SAVE America Act. Republicans passed a vote on Tuesday to open debate on the voter-ID measure.
It would require people to provide proof of citizenship in person to register to vote and would implement a national requirement for photo ID. Not only is Indiana Republican Senator Jim Banks in favor of it, he says it’s shocking that there is even a debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate about it.
“It’s hard to see that there are even two sides to this issue. Unless, of course, you believe that it really is okay for illegal immigrants to vote in our elections. But how is that even a debate? The Constitution is very clear that only citizens of the United States of America are eligible to vote in our elections. So that debate is already settled,” said Banks.
Banks brought up that Indiana already has voter ID laws.
“Hoosiers have to show an ID when they show up to vote on Election Day, and they have to prove that they are who they say they are when they register to vote in the first place. But it’s not fair to Hoosiers when other states don’t require voter ID. It’s not fair to law-abiding Americans throughout the country because when we allow non-citizens to vote in our federal elections, we dilute the power of the American voter. And that should never be allowed to happen in the United States of America. American elections are for Americans, period,” said Banks.
Banks says he’s frustrated because he’s seen illegal immigrants who show up and try to vote.
“In fact, our Secretary of State in Indiana, Diego Morales just audited our voter rolls in our state to find every non-citizen that voted in our elections to clean up the process. And he actually found some, and the Secretary of State and our Attorney General Todd Rakita are prosecuting those voters who voted illegally. So it’s obvious that even in a state of Indiana where we take election integrity very seriously,” said Banks.
He brought up that America is about to turn 250 years old.
“There is so much that we have to celebrate in this great country, the greatest country in the history of the world. But it’s crazy to think that we’re gearing up for this epic birthday by debating voter ID laws,” said Banks.
Democrats are united in opposition, arguing that the ID requirements would disenfranchise millions of voters. Republicans could add provisions to the bill that President Trump is pushing. They include the prohibition of gender surgery for kids, ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports and restrict mail-in voting.
