Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich issued a sharp critique of Democratic opposition to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Thursday, pointing to a significant disconnect between congressional lawmakers and public opinion.
Highlighting recent data, Gingrich noted that while the bill faces a steep uphill battle in a divided Washington, it enjoys lopsided support from the American public across nearly every demographic and political stripe.
At the heart of the debate is a simple requirement: providing a photo ID to cast a ballot. According to a recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 71% of Americans back the SAVE Act. When looking specifically at photo ID requirements, the numbers climb even higher.
Data from Pew Research indicates that 83% of Americans support the mandate. This includes 82% of Black voters, 77% of Asian American voters, and 76% of Hispanic American voters. Perhaps most notably in a polarized era, the concept retains a bipartisan floor, with 71% of Democrats and 95% of Republicans in agreement.
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Gingrich, speaking on “Mornings with Maria,” questioned why elected officials would break so cleanly from such a broad consensus. He argued that since photo identification is already a standard prerequisite for daily American life—ranging from driving a car and boarding an airplane to applying for a passport—applying the same standard to the electoral process should be a matter of course.
The former Speaker did not mince words regarding his theory on the opposition, suggesting that the resistance is rooted in a desire to maintain “the ability to get votes from people who are not registered.”
He drew on a long history of American political “machines,” citing the tactics of Tammany Hall and his own observations of “long counts” in Georgia during the 1960s, to argue that transparency is often the enemy of entrenched political interests.
While proponents of the SAVE Act argue it is a common-sense measure to ensure only citizens vote, many Democratic leaders have pushed back, citing concerns that such requirements could disenfranchise marginalized voters who may face hurdles in obtaining specific IDs.
However, with four out of five Americans currently favoring the requirement, the pressure on lawmakers to align with the majority continues to mount as the next election cycle approaches.
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