Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Tuesday became the first Republican senator to speak out against a House GOP-drafted bill to require people to show documented proof of citizenship before registering to vote and to show ID to cast a ballot, a top priority of the Trump administration.
Murkowski, a prominent centrist Republican, said the Constitution empowers states to manage federal elections for Senate and the House seats, and warned that imposing sweeping federal requirements on local election officials a few months before Election Day would threaten the integrity of the midterm elections.
“When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed. Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively do just that,” Murkowski wrote in a statement posted to social media.
“Once again, I do not support these efforts,” she announced.
She said the Constitution “clearly” provides states with the authority to regulate the time, place and manner of holding federal elections.
She argued that “one-size-fits-all” mandates from Washington seldom work in her home state.
“Election Day is fast approaching. Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies likely without the necessary resources,” she said.
“Ensuring public trust in our elections is at the core of our democracy, but federal overreach is not how we achieve this,” Murkowski added.
The House is expected to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — or the SAVE America Act — on Wednesday. It has passed a similar version of the legislation, previously known as the SAVE Act, multiple times in the past few years.
Murkowski’s statement comes as Senate conservatives led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) are pressing Senate GOP leaders to reinterpret the Senate’s filibuster rule to make it easier to pass the law.
Lee made a presentation to the Senate GOP conference Tuesday afternoon arguing that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) should require Democrats actively hold the floor with round-the-clock speeches if they want to block the elections bill.
Thune, however, is leery of deploying that strategy, because it could tie up the Senate floor for weeks.
And Democrats, if they regain control of Congress and the White House, could also require Republicans to engage in continuous floor debate to block Democratic legislative priorities.
The SAVE America Act would also require states to conduct reviews of voting rolls to purge inactive voters, something critics say would prevent some infrequent voters from participating due to possibly faulty data.
Senate Democrats have lambasted the SAVE America Act as legislation that would make it tougher for minority and low-income voters to participate in elections.
“Let’s be clear, the SAVE Act is not about securing our elections. It is about suppressing voters. The SAVE Act seeks to disenfranchise millions of American citizens, seize control of our elections, and fan the flames of election skepticism and denialism,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement, vowing Democrats will block the legislation.