Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., joined four other Republican senators in urging the passage of the government funding bill that is tied to a voter integrity measure or risk damaging the faith Americans hold in federal elections.
Tuberville was joined by Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Mike Lee, R-Utah., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in stressing the need for the House to pass a bill that would continue to fund the government and also require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
The Senator from Alabama cautioned that Americans are looking for assurances that elections are secure.
"What's [going to] happen, if we do not show the American people that the elections are [going to] be fair and they're [going to] be satisfied with the outcome, no matter whether Republicans win or Democrats win, you are going to have hell to pay in this country," he said. "It's coming, and I'm not so sure that's not what the Democrats want."
On Monday, the House Republicans unveiled funding legislation designed to pay for the government over the next six months and attached to it The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
Specifically, "the bill prohibits states from accepting and processing an application to register to vote in a federal election unless the applicant presents documentary proof of U.S. citizenship."
Strengthening voter ID laws have been a concern of Republican constituents with many urging the GOP to shore up election integrity laws before the November elections.
Scott told reporters during the press conference that "election security is a big deal" as he hits the campaign trail, noting that Alabama, Virginia and Texas "have kicked 16,000 people off the voter rolls that were non-citizens."
On Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson pulled the bill and announced he would delay bringing it to a vote until Republicans can unite around the specifics.
Republicans only hold a one-vote majority in the House, so any defection will cause the bill to fail. It is unclear how many Democrats in blue collar swing districts might defect to push the bill over the finish line, yet is still unlikely to pass the Senate.
Lee noted that the SAVE act does not need to be attached to the funding bill and that it "would take effect immediately" once passed.
As of April, 35 states require some form of ID for election day and less than half the states, 24, require a photo identification. The remaining 15 states do not require any form of ID to vote in person on election day, Newsweek noted.