Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, told Newsmax on Thursday that voter identification is "necessary, but not sufficient" for election security, arguing that proof of citizenship at registration must accompany voter ID because "many aliens have the ID necessary to vote if they're illegally registered."
Judicial Watch is a conservative, nonpartisan educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability, and integrity in government, politics, and the law, according to its website.
His comments on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE" came after the House of Representatives voted 218–213 on Wednesday to pass the SAVE America Act, legislation that would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote and add a photo ID requirement for voting in subsequent federal elections.
Asked in a broad prompt about the stakes of the bill, Fitton centered his argument on what he called a two-part standard: Both proof of U.S. citizenship and voter ID are needed to have truly secure elections.
Fitton then pointed to state laws already on the books to frame the debate, saying, "What's ironic is 38 states have some type of voter ID already."
He said that "15 states — like big ones, though, like California and Illinois and New York — don't," and "here in Washington, D.C., there's no voter ID, which is Congress' fault."
In the same response, Fitton shifted to Senate procedure and said the next test is whether the filibuster will again be used "to prevent this bill from moving forward."
He described what he called "the compromise position," saying, "if you want to filibuster it, you've got to stay on the floor and talk and talk and talk," and added, "as soon as you stop, there should be a vote."
In a separate prompt about identification requirements more generally, Fitton said that "you need an ID to do so many things" and argued that "by having secure elections, we're securing the voting."
"We're protecting votes from being stolen by fraud," adding that stronger rules would "encourage people to participate" by telling voters "the elections are more secure" and that "your vote is going to count."
Fitton also asserted that "study after study, analysis after analysis has shown where voting rights are more secure, you have increased turnout, including among minorities."
He then described opponents of the SAVE America Act in sharply worded terms.
"The only folks who oppose this are the lunatics," Fitton said, such as those he called the people on the "hard-core left and the machine politicians."
The House-passed text defines "documentary proof of United States citizenship" to include items such as "A valid United States passport" and "A certified birth certificate" when paired with certain photo identification.
It also requires voters in federal elections to present an "eligible photo identification document."
After the House voted on Wednesday to pass the bill, the measure must be taken up by the Senate before it can go to the president, a path that typically requires either unanimous consent or enough votes to end debate if opponents mount a filibuster.
Senate rules generally require three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn — usually 60 votes — to invoke cloture and move legislation forward.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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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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