Senate Republicans gained a key ally in their quest to enshrine voter ID into law, but the lawmaker’s support comes with a condition.
A trio of lawmakers, led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, have undertaken a campaign to convince their colleagues to support the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, working social media and closed-door meetings to secure the votes.
The campaign has proven successful, with the cohort gaining a crucial vote from Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who announced that she would back the SAVE America Act, which recently passed the House. With Collins, Senate Republicans have at least a slim majority backing the act.
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„I support the version of the SAVE America Act that recently passed the House,“ Collins said in a statement first reported by the Maine Wire. „The law is clear that in this country only American citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections.“
„In addition, having people provide an ID at the polls, just as they have to do before boarding an airplane, checking into a hotel, or buying an alcoholic beverage, is a simple reform that will improve the security of our federal elections and will help give people more confidence in the results,“ she continued.
Collins noted that she did not support the previous version of the bill, known simply as the SAVE Act, because it „would have required people to prove their citizenship every single time they cast a ballot.“
ONLY ONE HOUSE DEM VOTED IN FAVOR OF VOTER ID, PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN US ELECTIONS
Her decision gives Lee and Senate Republicans the votes needed to clear a key procedural hurdle in the Senate.
„We now have enough votes to pass a motion to proceed to the House-passed bill — even without any additional votes — with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie,“ Lee said in a post on X.
That tie-breaking scenario would only present itself if Republicans turn to the standing, or talking, filibuster. It’s a move that Lee has been pushing his colleagues to make, and one that would require actual, physical debate over the bill.
It’s the precursor to the current version of the filibuster, where the only hill lawmakers have to climb is acquiring 60 votes. Lee and other conservatives believe that if they turn to the standing filibuster, rather than the „zombie filibuster,“ they can barrel through Democratic resistance.
But some fear that turning to that tool could paralyze the Senate floor for weeks or even months, depending on Senate Democrats’ resolve.
And Collins’ support is not enough to smash through the 60-vote Senate filibuster.
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Complicating matters, Collins made clear that she does not support doing away with the filibuster, as do several other Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who reiterated earlier this week that the GOP doesn’t have the votes to eliminate the legislative tool.
„I oppose eliminating the legislative filibuster,“ Collins said. „The filibuster is an important protection for the rights of the minority party that requires Senators to work together in the best interest of the country.“
„Removing that protection would, for example, allow a future Congress controlled by Democrats to pass provisions on anything they want — D.C. statehood, open borders, or packing the Supreme Court — with just a simple majority of Senators,“ she continued.
GOP senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, remain the only Republicans who have not pledged support for the SAVE Act.
Collins boosts Republican voter ID effort, but won’t scrap filibuster 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-02-14 17:02:04 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
