SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) claims the Save America Act bill makes it easy to vote and harder to cheat, saying it would prevent non-citizens from casting a ballot.
Not everyone sees it that way, including members of his own political party in Utah.
"You've got to register. When you register to vote, you need to prove that you are a citizen. And when you show up to vote, you need to show up with a voter ID," said Lee while appearing on FOX News Sunday.
Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, a fellow Republican, oversees elections in the state and has been vocal on social media in opposition to the SAVE Act. She says it would be impossible to implement the law in the middle of an election year, and that vote-by-mail is trustworthy and convenient for voters.
In January, a review by Henderson's office found that no non-citizens had voted in Utah.
“I feel like there would be large percentages of the population that are disenfranchised by this SAVE Act," said Utah State Sen. Kathleen Riebe (D-Cottonwood Heights).
Washington County clerk weighs in as U.S. Supreme Court debates late-arriving ballot issue:
Utah Democratic state senators are concerned some voters may not have the paperwork that would be required to prove their citizenship, like a birth certificate, passport, consular report of birth abroad, certificate of citizenship or naturalization certificate. .
[Sen. Luz Escamilla, (D)]
“People showing ID is not a problem, but when you’re restricting identification, and only 51% of Americans have that, which is in this case a U.S. passport. That’s problematic,” explained State Sen. Luz Escamilla (D-Salt Lake City)
Republican State Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross) doesn't believe there's anything wrong with requiring a driver's license as proof of identification, but said it gets more complicated from there. He also favors local control.
“You think the federal government can fix everything but as a Utah Senator, I’d rather that we take control over our own elections,” said Weiler.
Local politicians and voters are now waiting to see where the SAVE Act goes in DC
“You want people to have faith in the system," said Weiler, "but you also don’t want to make it so difficult to vote that you’re actually disenfranchising people because it’s too hard for them to either get a passport or name change.”
