Senate Rejects GOP Voter Photo ID Amendment 53-47

The U.S. Senate on March 26 rejected a Republican amendment that would have required voters to present photo identification when casting ballots, in a 53-47 party-line vote that underscored deepening divisions over election rules. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, a former state secretary of state, sought to add a federal photo ID requirement for in-person and mail-in voting as part of the ongoing debate on the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act.

The amendment proposed accepting common forms of identification, such as driver's licenses, state-issued IDs, U.S. passports, military IDs or tribal IDs. It needed 60 votes to advance but received support only from Republicans, with no Democrats crossing party lines. Husted described the proposal as a straightforward addition to enhance election security without broader changes, stating on the Senate floor that it addressed a basic verification step already used in daily life.

The vote came amid a marathon Senate session on the SAVE Act, which passed the House earlier and aims to require proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, for federal voter registration....