Topline

President Donald #Trump may bypass Congress to implement voter identification requirements, according to a Friday Truth Social post from the president, who is making his latest push for the measure ahead of November midterms.

Key Facts

Trump said voter identification, which requires voters to present a form of ID when casting their ballots, will be used in the midterm elections “whether approved by Congress or not!”

Without evidence, the president characterized no voter ID in a follow-up post as a “scam” used by Democrats to “cheat in elections,” saying he would issue an executive order describing the legal reasoning for national voter ID.

Trump said the U.S. “will never be the same” if Democrats seize more power in the midterms, which are shaping up to be competitive as the GOP has seen its majority in the House significantly slip.

Voter ID requirements could possibly be approved by Congress, as the House recently passed the SAVE Act, which includes new voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements.

However, the measure faces opposition in the Senate, where some Republicans including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have pushed back against the overhaul of federal election laws included in the SAVE Act.

What To Watch For

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said the SAVE Act “would impose Jim Crow type laws to the entire country and is dead on arrival in the Senate.” The bill does not have the support needed (60 votes) to break a filibuster from Democrats.

Key Background

Republicans backing voter ID laws have framed them as a means of preventing voter fraud, a significantly rare occurrence. Such laws have received blowback from Democrats and critics who argue they suppress voters without necessary identification including people with disabilities, senior citizens, students and minority voters. Ten states have strict photo ID voter laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. States without voter ID requirements often use other identifiers, such as signatures, which are checked against information on file. Many voters believed to be most impacted by ID laws fall under demographics that have historically aligned with Democrats, according to the left-leaning Center for American Progress, though the SAVE Act’s strict requirements could also lessen voter turnout in red states, as residents in such states are less likely to have passports, one of the key forms of identification that can be used in voter registration,

according to CAP. $TRUMP