Sen. Rick Scott has called for a standing filibuster to force a vote on legislation requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration.
“We’ve got to secure our election. This cannot be another election where we’re worried about whether there’s gonna be fraud in the election,” Scott said Saturday during an interview on Fox News.
On Monday morning, Scott reiterated his point in a social media post, stating, “We have to pass the SAVE Act.”
The House approved the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. However, the bill is lingering in the Senate.
The legislation requires voters to provide proof of citizenship in person in order to vote in a federal election and requires states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
“I don’t know how a Democrat could be against this,” Scott added. “We don’t get to vote in another country. Why are people from another country getting to vote in our country? It’s common sense. I don’t know why all 100 senators wouldn’t be on board with this.”
Democrats and liberal groups have argued that requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote creates an unnecessary barrier to voter participation.
The Senate version is sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. The legislation is aimed at preventing noncitizen voting.
Scott said he would like to see senators go on the record regarding the bill.
“We need to have a vote. We’ll show that all Republicans are gonna support this, and hopefully, Democrats will support it, and they’ll pass,” Scott said.
It generally takes 60 votes to get a vote on a non-spending bill in the Senate to overcome a filibuster.
Scott suggested adding the SAVE Act to a spending bill, or forcing a standalone with “a standing filibuster, whatever it’s gonna take” to make senators speak on a filibuster.
“We’ve got to get this passed. We’ve got to secure elections,” Scott said.
“Let’s make everybody stay there and talk and have the standing filibuster,” Scott said. “I know it’s going to be a lot of work, but that’s what we ought to start with, and see if the Democrats want to do this.”
