Dems block Husted proposal to mandate voter ID in federal elections
Senate Democrats this week blocked a measure that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, brought to the floor to mandate voter ID in federal elections.
Liberal U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and Democrats shut down the push to bring up the measure, which is part of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility — or SAVE America — Act.
“The voter under this legislation could present a photo ID of any of the following: a state issued driver’s license that includes a photo ID and an expiration date, state ID that has a photo of the individual and an expiration date, a valid U.S. passport, a valid military ID or a valid tribal ID that includes a photo of the individual and an expiration date,” Husted said in remarks.
“The American people support it by an 80/20 margin,” Husted added. “And as I’ve been saying for more than a decade and a half, it is possible to make it both easy to vote and hard to cheat.”
That Democrats oppose the SAVE Act is hardly a surprise. Democratic U.S. Reps. Greg Landsman and Marcy Kaptur, for example, voted against the measure when the U.S. House passed it earlier this year.
“I know for me in the last week, I’ve had to provide an ID to enter a government building, an ID to rent a car, an ID to stay at a hotel,” Husted said in his remarks.
“But many other things we commonly do in life, whether that’s someone going to the local store to buy alcohol or tobacco, you name it,” Husted added. “Lots of reasons that people have to supply IDs.”
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted, who was the state’s lieutenant governor at the time, to the post in January 2025. He faces re-election in November, and a new poll suggests Husted is locked in a tight race against Sherrod Brown, who is looking to return to the U.S. Senate after losing to Bernie Moreno in 2024.
“Jon Husted is fighting for a commonsense voter ID standard that Ohioans overwhelmingly support, but Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats blocked it without hesitation,” RNC Spokesman Hunter Lovell said in a statement to Ohio.News. “If they won’t even allow a vote on something this popular, Ohio voters will see right through this blatant hypocrisy.”
As Ohio’s Secretary of State, we ran elections where both Democrats and Republicans succeeded under voter ID laws.
The SAVE America Act is a commonsense step to protect election integrity and build confidence in our elections. pic.twitter.com/WQwMm9PRDU— Senator Jon Husted (@SenJonHusted) March 19, 2026
In Ohio, voters must show a valid, unexpired photo ID that includes their name and photograph, such as a U.S. passport, military ID, or Ohio driver’s license. The Heart of it All is one of three dozen states with such a mandate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“Ohio has built a national reputation as the gold standard for election security,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank said in a release.
Election security remains a hot-button topic not only at the national level, but also extends beyond the debate over voter ID requirements.
This week, LaRose issued the seventh election security directive of his administration, following a warning from the National Council of ISACs about increased cybersecurity threats amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“Foreign adversaries continue to target American election systems,” LaRose said. “Ohio has taken these threats seriously from day one. This directive ensures our cybersecurity defenses remain strong so voters can continue to have confidence in the integrity of our elections.
“… We’ll continue staying ahead of emerging cyber threats to protect the democratic process,” La Rose added.
