Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said Wednesday on Newsmax that showing basic identification to vote is broadly acceptable, saying it is "not unreasonable."
He agreed with the majority of Republicans even as the House moved toward a vote on legislation that would tighten federal voter registration rules and require a photo ID to cast a ballot.
Fetterman said on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" that "I think a significant majority of Americans are OK with showing a basic ID" and framed the question as a practical test of identity rather than a barrier.
He said, "Just saying, Hey, this is who I am, and that we're going to vote."
Asked about the SAVE America Act and whether he supports it, Fetterman said there are "a lot of parts" to the bill, but stressed that "one of the things" is that it "is not Jim Crow 2.0."
He added, "I would never use that kind of extreme rhetoric."
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday on the Senate floor: "Mr. President, now, on the SAVE Act, as Americans struggle with high costs, fewer jobs, and endless chaos from Donald Trump, House Republicans are choosing to spend their time this week on federalizing Jim Crow."
"Jim Crow" refers to laws and practices in the southern United States that enforced racial segregation and limited civil rights for Black Americans from the late 1800s to the mid-1960s.
Fetterman said ID checks at the polls are already common: "There are many states, some, you know, Democrat ones," where "showing their ID to vote" is required.
"I mean, that's not unreasonable," he said.
He pointed to Wisconsin as an example, saying that in April the state "elected a very, very liberal justice to the Supreme Court by nearly a 2-to-1 margin" and still backed an identification requirement for voting.
"They added that to their constitution, that they have to produce ID when they're going to vote," he said.
Fetterman also cited Wisconsin's split partisan representation to argue that ID rules are not confined to one side, saying the state elected "someone very liberal like Tammy Baldwin" and "someone like Ron Johnson, who's an avowed conservative."
The House on Wednesday adopted a closed rule for consideration of the SAVE America Act, by a 216-215 vote, and later moved into debate on the bill, according to House Rules Committee materials and the Clerk's floor log.
Fetterman said the issue turns on what qualifies as acceptable documentation, saying, "That is not a passport," and describing it as "a basic state ID."
He added that "those states provide that for free," and said it is "not about a driver's license or anything."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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