Politics usually feels like a game of “us versus them,” but every once in a while, a data point drops that makes the usual talking points look a bit shaky. This week, that data came from CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten, who laid out some numbers that fly directly in the face of the standard Democratic platform.
While party leaders like Chuck Schumer have spent years branding photo ID requirements as “Jim Crow 2.0,” it turns out the very people they claim to be protecting—minority voters—actually overwhelmingly support the idea.
The conversation caught fire after rapper Nicki Minaj took to X on Sunday to voice her support for showing identification at the polls. While some pundits expected a backlash, Enten pointed out on CNN News Central that Minaj is actually standing right in the middle of the American mainstream.
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The racial breakdown is hard to ignore: 85% of white Americans, 82% of Hispanic Americans, and 76% of Black Americans favor requiring a photo ID to vote. These aren’t just slim margins; they are massive supermajorities that cross every demographic line.
Despite this, the divide in Washington couldn’t be deeper. Republicans have been pushing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which aims to tighten the screws by requiring proof of citizenship for federal elections.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have dug in, calling the bill a calculated attempt at voter suppression. They argue that the cost and red tape involved in getting a passport or birth certificate disproportionately hurts people who don’t have those documents handy.
The friction peaked on the Senate floor Monday when Schumer doubled down on the “Jim Crow” comparison.
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That rhetoric didn’t sit well with everyone, including Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who fired back on social media, mocking the idea that minorities who want secure voting are somehow supporting “racist policies.” The SAVE Act managed to clear the House back in April with a tiny handful of Democrats crossing the aisle, but it’s currently collecting dust in the Senate.
What Enten’s analysis suggests is a massive disconnect between the rhetoric used by high-ranking politicians and the actual opinions of the people they represent.
If three-quarters of Black Americans and over 80% of Latinos are on board with photo IDs, the “controversy” might be happening more in the halls of Congress than in the living rooms of everyday voters. At the end of the day, the data shows that most Americans, regardless of skin color or political leanings, just want to know that when a vote is cast, the person behind it is exactly who they say they are.
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