[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3028-S3030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             VOTING RIGHTS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week, I joined my colleague from 
California Senator Alex Padilla for a spotlight forum on the Trump 
administration's ongoing effort to undermine free and fair elections, 
particularly the upcoming midterm election, a few weeks away. I want to 
thank Senator Padilla for hosting that forum and his leadership.
  During the forum, we heard from a person who was a 15-year veteran in 
efforts to counter foreign malign influence across various government 
Agencies, most recently at the Department of Homeland Security. She 
warned us: There are bad actors out there who will take advantage of 
the diminished Federal effort to prevent foreign influence in our 
elections.
  She was specific. Particularly under this administration, the Trump 
administration, and DOGE--you will remember that exercise by the 
richest man on Earth, Elon Musk--they attempted to and did gut the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, and 
dismantled the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force.
  Unfortunately, instead of taking serious steps to counter real 
threats to our elections, the President's cherry-picked so-called 
solutions to problems are nothing more than attempts to rig midterm 
elections and cling to power.
  For example, Republicans tried to sneak the SAVE America Act into the 
President's ICE and CBP funding bill as an amendment, but Democrats 
defeated it.
  Now, the President is back at it. Last week, in one of his many 
social media posts, the President said: I will not approve a FISA 
extension without the SAVE America Act going along with it.
  Republicans are blaming Democrats for holding up FISA. It turns out 
the President is holding it up to get his--

[[Page S3029]]

what I consider to be--unconstitutional measure adopted by Congress.
  The bill, the SAVE America Act, sounds like something you want to 
salute. You shouldn't. The bill would require all States to obtain 
proof of citizenship in person from people registering to vote. Most 
driver's licenses--the most common form of identification of most 
Americans--including most REAL IDs, would not be sufficient to register 
to vote. Instead, people would need to provide birth certificates or 
passports or similar documentation that denotes one's citizenship.
  So how many of us know where you are going to find your original 
birth certificate?
  I think it is upstairs in a box in a closet, in my case, but I 
haven't seen it in a long time.
  And what about passports? Well, just show your passport.
  It turns out half of the people in America don't have a passport.
  Well, OK, get a passport before the next election in November.
  Oops, there is a filing fee--a $165 filing fee. So you have to pay a 
filing fee for a passport in order to get the right to vote under the 
SAVE America Act that the President wants?
  Do you want to expedite it? You are afraid the passport won't show up 
in time for the next election. Add another $60 to the cost.
  A $225 filing fee for an expedited passport--think about that as a 
poll tax.
  The bill would also unfairly impact married women who have taken 
their spouse's name, because their current legal name may not match the 
name on that birth certificate that you found upstairs in the attic. 
These women would have to jump through additional hoops to amend their 
original proof of citizenship documents or provide supplemental 
materials or affidavits to register to vote. How much more complicated 
can we make it?
  Well, you say: Wait a minute. If it means we are going to have an 
honest and fair election, Senator, face up to it. It is a reality.
  Well, it is a legitimate question. How many aliens--noncitizens--try 
to vote in the United States? Well, they did a survey over a span of 30 
years. Millions and millions of people registered to vote, and they 
checked how many times they found out those people were ineligible 
because of their citizenship.
  Out of the millions and millions of people who voted, how many times 
do you think this happened in America? Well, the survey that was done 
found that it happened--well, let's take a guess. Seven hundred 
thousand times out of millions? No. Seventy thousand? No. Seven 
hundred? No. Seventy-seven times out of the millions of registrations 
to vote, they found someone who was ineligible because of citizenship--
77 out of millions.
  And because of that, the Republicans are suggesting we need to change 
the way we register to vote in America, with a filing fee for passports 
of $225 or some other form of identification.
  And the bottom line is this: It is a solution looking for a problem. 
It is not a problem. It is against the law for anyone who is not a 
citizen to vote, and they know it; and they pay a price if they are 
caught.
  If passed, this legislation would apply to this year's election--
think about that--in a matter of 4\1/2\ months. It would wreak havoc in 
communities across the country, as voters are kicked off voter rolls 
and States scramble to implement drastic change.
  Republicans, with a historically unpopular President--let me repeat 
that: a historically unpopular President--don't think they can win this 
election without a boost. That boost will mean keeping people from 
voting that they think will vote the other way. So they have resorted 
to voter suppression to create a fighting chance in November.
  Don't believe me? Just ask President Trump, who claimed on social 
media: ``The Republican Party will never win another election'' without 
the SAVE America Act.
  He is pretty blunt, isn't he? He doesn't beat around the bush. He 
says what he is thinking, whatever that may be, and that is clear. He 
believes the SAVE America Act is the only way to win in November. That 
means reducing registration to vote, reducing the number of voters, 
requiring identification that has never been required in the past.
  The SAVE America Act is just one piece of the puzzle in this larger 
scheme. The truth is the President has been laying the groundwork to 
sow doubt and distrust in our electoral process and disenfranchise 
voters for some time now.
  Remember, just a few months ago, when FBI agents raided an election 
office in Fulton County, GA, to seize the ballots in a past election? 
Why? Because Donald Trump just can't shake the Big Lie and admit he 
lost to Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential election.
  You ought to see these lawyers, many of them judges who want lifetime 
appointments to the Federal bench, appear before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee. We asked them really stump questions, really hard questions, 
difficult questions.
  Here is one of them: Who won the 2020 election, in the United States 
of America, running for President?
  Boy, that is a tough one. Only every eighth grader you ever met knows 
the answer to that question. But these nominees cannot say those words 
for fear that Donald Trump will hear them say he actually lost that 
election to Joe Biden--and he did. And so they squirm, and they wiggle. 
And they fret, and they perspire. And they want to get out of the place 
as fast as possible because they don't want to say the truth: Donald 
Trump lost an election.
  They are afraid, if they do, he will yank their nomination. So they 
talk about what the Constitution really means and all sorts of other 
topics. That is the reality.
  President Trump wants to justify interfering in this year's election. 
In fact, his weaponized Justice Department is seeking confidential 
voter roll data from States around the country to purge eligible 
voters. There is a ruling by a local court this week on that subject, 
saying they can't do it.
  And then there is the Supreme Court, which recently cleared the way 
for Alabama Republicans to eliminate one of the State's two majority-
Black districts as part of a plan to give Republicans an additional 
House seat in the State. It is not the only State that is going through 
this exercise to eliminate minority representation.
  Last Thursday, it was my privilege to be invited for the opening of 
the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. I had been through it 
a few weeks ago. It is amazing. It restores your confidence in the 
Presidency and your belief that you can have a President who is admired 
and respected and follows the law. The feeling, of course, was 
multiplied by the fact that Barack Obama, who is a personal friend, who 
was a colleague of mine in the Senate and the first African-American 
President--to represent Springfield, IL, the home of Abraham Lincoln, 
and to stand on the inauguration platform with Barack Obama and watch 
him put his hand on Abraham Lincoln's Bible and become the first 
African-American President in our history was something I will never 
forget as long as I live. That was an amazing achievement. We moved 
forward toward equality in America, as it should be.

  Sadly, we have to say the obvious: Under President Trump, we are 
headed in the wrong direction. Some of the things that are being done 
by members of his administration are impossible to explain other than 
their being the product of racial bigotry. For instance, some of the 
promotions that have been denied in the Department of Defense just 
don't make any sense other than using that as a basis. That is the 
reality of where we are today.
  I believe that all Americans who are eligible should have access to 
vote. I have trusted the outcomes of our Federal elections year in and 
year out. Even when I lost, I believed it was a fair election. I have 
said as much publicly.
  Today, we are now facing a new challenge: Will this election in 
November deny Americans who are legally eligible to vote the 
opportunity to do so? If so, it will be one of the worst days in our 
constitutional history.
  We need to make sure that we guarantee people's right to vote. That 
is why I am cosponsoring legislation entitled the John R. Lewis Voting 
Rights Act. I am proud to lead it with my colleague Senator Warnock of 
Georgia. Our bill would restore and strengthen the landmark Voting 
Rights Act that has been under attack by the Supreme Court.

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  As we celebrate our country's 250th year of independence, we must 
join together in support of free and fair elections and condemn any 
attempts by this President or otherwise to undermine our democracy 
before it is too late.
  I yield the floor.

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