Sen. Dave McCormick on SAVE Act: If An 80-20 Issue Can’t Get 60 Votes, Something Is Amiss In The Senate | Video

SEN. DAVE MCCORMICK: I’ve heard a lot of hysteria, hyperbole, and, sadly, falsehoods about this bill, which have caused confusion. Frankly, a lot of the issues here have become muddled. I think we’ve lost sight of what we’re really debating in this Chamber.

So today, I would like to dispel a few myths about the SAVE America Act and address the legitimate questions voiced by some of my colleagues. But first, I want to make sure we all understand how important this issue is.

I consider myself uniquely qualified when I say every vote matters. In 2022, I lost my first state-wide election in Pennsylvania by 950 votes—that’s 14 votes per county. I won my second state-wide election in 2024 by 15,000 votes out of almost 7 million cast.

These incredibly narrow races, each of which had electoral issues of their own, show just how important it is that our elections run smoothly, fairly, and that only legitimate votes are counted.

And right now, we cannot, we must not, pretend that all elections in America meet that important standard.

Just last year, in my home state of Pennsylvania, Chester County officials mistakenly omitted 70,000 third-party voters from the voter rolls. Registered voters were turned away at the polls. And an unknown number of unverified voters cast regular ballots.

Every time Americans hear about election problems like Chester County’s, they rightly question the integrity of our electoral process.

It should not come as a surprise to us that—according to a recent Scripps and Ipsos poll—more than half of Americans are concerned about non-citizens voting and fear electoral fraud.

Bottom line: You cannot stand in this Chamber and claim there is not a problem. There is a problem. And the people who put us here agree.

Colleagues, we have a duty to root out the source of this distrust and restore the integrity of our democratic process.

As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, we must not put to chance what John Adams called: “the primary right by which all other rights are protected.” That is why I support Senator Lee’s SAVE America Act.

This bill will not fix every issue with our elections, but it does three critical things:

First: It prevents noncitizens from voting by requiring people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to show a government-issued photo ID when casting a ballot.

Second: It directs states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls by mandating regular reviews of those lists and giving states the tools they need to accomplish this critical task.

And finally: it improves accountability by strengthening enforcement of current law and imposing penalties for election officials who violate the law by registering non-citizens to vote.

The requirements for voter ID and proof of citizenship, in particular, have been twisted and misrepresented. Let me set the record straight.

Federal law mandates that only U.S. citizens may vote. However, under the Supreme Court’s interpretation, voters are not required to show proof of citizenship. The risk is clear.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, over 10 million illegal immigrants entered our country during the last Administration and a total of at least 22 million non-citizens reside in the United States. In 19 states, non-citizens can obtain driver’s licenses, which, in some cases, automatically registers them to vote. This is an unacceptable vulnerability to election integrity.

It is now incumbent on Congress to close this loophole. We must secure the fundamental principle that voting is a right reserved only for American citizens.

The SAVE America Act also requires voters to show a government ID when casting a ballot. I’ve heard some claim this is too high a barrier. Let’s be serious.

We ask Americans to show an ID to buy a beer, board a plane, donate blood, apply for benefits, or even to get married!

“But when it comes to electing the leaders who decide the direction of our country, write our laws, and command our armed forces, no ID is required. That is absurd.

Many on the left look at our electoral system and say there is nothing to see here. No issue, no problem. That’s what they said about the border. That’s what they said about censoring conservatives online. That’s what they said about the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. That’s what they said about President Biden’s cognitive decline. They were wrong on all those things. They are wrong on this too. And they are out of step with the country.

Americans of all political persuasions have supported tighter election rules for decades. In 2005, former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, joined former Secretary of State Jim Baker, a Republican, to form a commission on election integrity. They identified voter ID laws as the single most important reform that was needed.

A vast majority of the American people agree. As we see here in a recent Pew Research Center poll, 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats support Voter ID. My friends, if an “80–20” issue such as this can not get 60 votes in our 100-person chamber, something is amiss.

Some of my colleagues have raised concerns regarding voter suppression. They warn that many U.S. citizens do not have a hard copy proof of citizenship.

The SAVE America Act directly addresses this concern. It puts in place alternate documentation options, state verification processes, and other protections that will ensure citizens are not disenfranchised.

I also hear some of my colleagues voice fears of federal overreach. As a conservative, I believe the less government interferes in people’s lives, the better. But the SAVE America Act does NOT federalize our elections.

Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution makes clear that while states determine the time, place, and manner of federal elections, “the Congress,” and I quote, “may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.” That is, we, in this Congress, in this body, have the Constitutional authority to set certain rules of the road nationwide.

The SAVE America Act merely creates a mechanism to verify that state elections comply with existing law.

Other electoral reforms are also necessary, including Senator Hagerty’s proposed Equal Representation Act, which I am proud to cosponsor. It ensures that the census does not count non-citizens when determining congressional seats and electoral college votes.

I worry some on the Left oppose the SAVE America Act simply because they want to cheat by allowing non-citizens to vote. But, as always, I trust my Democratic colleagues in the Senate, who oppose this bill, are acting in good faith.

But I DO ask them—and all who oppose the SAVE America Act regardless of party—to consider the extraordinary stakes.

We have an opportunity, in this Congress, to remove deep vulnerabilities in our elections and restore America’s trust in this core function of our Republic. I can think of few things more important than that.

For that reason, I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting the SAVE America Act. And if not, I respectfully challenge you to explain to the clear majority of your constituents why you believe our elections are not in desperate need of repair.