Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed piece at the New York Post on the debate over the SAVE Act.
.
Senate Democrats are fighting tooth and nail against the SAVE Act, arguing that requiring Americans to prove their identity with a photo ID when they go to the polls to vote — even when the ID itself is given away for free —prevents eligible voters from casting ballots.
.
They contend proving citizenship would make voting harder for millions who lack ready access to birth certificates or passports – supposedly primarily harming blacks and Hispanics.
.
Yet democracies all over the globe, both in the wealthy West and in the developing world, enforce similar rules.
.
Every country in Africa, for example, requires government-issued identification to vote, and 51 out of 54 African nations demand would-be voters to actively submit proof of citizenship to register.
.
Mexico and all 12 South American countries mandate government-issued photo IDs to vote, and verify the citizenship of each registered voter.
.
Mexico’s rules, similar to those proposed in the SAVE Act, require voters to prove their citizenship with an original birth certificate issued by a civil registry, a naturalization certificate or a Mexican passport.
.
Our southern neighbor even requires a thumb stain when casting a ballot, to prevent double-voting.
.
All 47 European countries require government-issued photo identification at the polls.
.
Virtually all of them check voters’ citizenship against national databases, though France requires them to submit documentation, too — and the UK, Cyprus and Ireland reserve the right to demand documents when citizenship is in doubt.
.
Why the tight security? To combat widespread vote fraud.
.
Mexico enacted major reforms in 1991 after election fraud became endemic there.
.
The government required biometric photo voter IDs, banned absentee ballots and mandated in-person registration.
.
And despite the tighter rules, turnout rose.
.
In the next three presidential elections, average participation reached 68% of eligible voters, up from 59% in the prior three.
.
As confidence in the system increased, so did participation.
.
Similarly, in Northern Ireland, decades of intense sectarian conflict fueled aggressive electoral tactics, and observers described voter fraud as “widespread and systemic.”
.
Both Conservative and Labour governments acted.
.
In 1985, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the UK began requiring voters to show identification at the polls, but that failed to solve the problem: Investigators found that individuals could easily forge medical cards — the accepted ID — or obtain them fraudulently to cast illegitimate votes.
.
IRA Belfast commanders subsequently admitted to complex scams that had volunteers donning disguises — wigs, different clothes, glasses — to vote multiple times, and running taxis to transport fraudulent voters between polling stations.
.
By 2002, a UK Electoral Commission survey found that 64% of voters believed fraud in some areas was significant enough to change election outcomes. Only 10% disagreed.
.
That year, the Labour government strengthened ID requirements, introduced harder-to-forge identification and implemented rules to prevent multiple registrations — and voter confidence rose.
.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, the only House Democrat supporting the SAVE Act, says he does so “because I believe in a fundamental principle: American citizens should decide American elections.”
.
Currently, seven states already require proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, passport, tribal documentation, or naturalization papers, to register to vote — similar to the SAVE Act’s proposed rules.
.
And polls show strong support for voter ID requirements among all voters, both Democrats (71%) and Republicans (95%).
.
Even though Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer damn the legislation by claiming it “would impose Jim Crow-style restrictions on voting,” minority voters don’t seem see any danger: significant majorities of black Americans (76%) and Hispanic Americans (82%) favor voter ID.
.
“The bottom line is this: voter ID is not controversial in this country,” CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten recently noted.
.
Nor does it spark controversy virtually anywhere else.
.
Yet despite voters’ own preferences, only one Democratic House member and one possible Senate Democrat, Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, supports the SAVE Act.
.
Unless seven more of the Senate’s 47 Democrats step forward, their filibuster will kill the bill.
.
But if voter ID and proof of citizenship destroy democracy, Democrats would have to label virtually all other countries in the world as undemocratic.
.
John R. Lott, Jr., “At the New York Post: World Democracies Debunk SAVE Act Fears,” New York Post, March 26, 2026.
0 Comments