BREAKING: Republicans EXECUTE election scheme

This is Democracy Watch. Mark, there is. a massive voter suppression bill gaining. a lot of traction in Congress right now. that is the top of the news. It's called. the Save America Act. Can you explain. what the breaking news is on that front? >> Yeah. So, this is a major effort by. Republicans to try to undermine free and. fair elections in 2026. The White House. has been all over this. Donald Trump. personally said that the prior name, the. Save Act, was not strong enough. if you. wanted America added, which is why uh. Brian, as you say, it's called the Save. America Act. And House Republicans are.

going to try to ram this through early. this week, as soon as Tuesday, by just. taking a sledgehammer to the right to. vote. So, this bill, among other things, would impose the the so-called proof of. citizenship, which is really just a. fancy way of saying we don't want young. people and married women who change. their last names to be able to register. to vote. It would also contain a new. updated provision uh just hot off the. presses that makes it explicitly clear. that governmentisssued ID does not.

include, wait for it, Brian, issued ID. by colleges and universities. That's. right. The states can issue any kind of. government ID with photos, but if it's. from an educational institution, even if. it's the flagship university or college. of that state, it is specifically. excluded from the Save America Act. I. mean, these guys have dropped all the. pretenses. They have dropped the facade. They are just in outandout voter. suppression mode because, Brian, they.

are panicked. They are panicked because. their redistricting gambit didn't work. They are panicked because Donald Trump's. polling is dropping through the floor. And they are panicked because they know. that a big blue wave is just forming. over the horizon. I have actually been. asked this question uh by a lot of folks. who watch our videos for women, for. example, whose names have changed. You. know, what happens when they try to show. up at the polls? What happens when. somebody tries to show up at the polls. and they have a student ID?

>> So, with the with the women, they. wouldn't be able to register to vote. I. mean, forget about getting to the polls. I mean, those married women who changed. their last name, unless they had a new. passport or some other kind of. documentation that would square all. these things up, like they're just. out of luck. Uh they're not going to be. allowed to register. And by the way, you. know, for the rest of us who are not. married women who change their last. names, it's not going to be a whole lot. easier because proving citizenship is. not easy in a country where we do not.

issue national ID cards. I mean, this is. the thing, Brian. You know, Republicans. for years opposed the idea of a national. ID card. By the way, I also opposed the. idea of a national ID card. I don't. think Donald Trump should have a. national registry of all of us. But it. was initially Republicans and civil. libertarians who said, "We don't want. these national IDs." Well, if you don't. have a national ID, proving citizenship. is not easy. Obviously, a passport. proves citizenship. But most Americans. don't have passports. An original birth.

certificate would prove citizenship, but. don't fool yourselves. How did Donald. Trump come onto all of our radar. screens? He came onto our radar screen. by saying that Barack Obama was not born. in the United States. And when Barack. Obama produced an original birth. certificate from Hawaii, what did Donald. Trump say? >> Wasn't good enough. >> It was a forgery, right? So like that's. not going to be good enough. But so you. could produce a birth certificate. Uh uh. and then people say, you know, well,

what about a driver's license? Well, that's fine. Except the Real ID driver's. licenses have not rolled out everywhere. And even where they have, not every. state issues Real ID driver's licenses. only to US citizens. In many states, they issue Real ID driver's licenses to. green card holders who are here. lawfully, who are here, or visa holders. And if you start to get in the business. and say, "Well, don't issue them. driver's licenses." I'm sorry. What do. you want someone who lives here. permanently, which is what a green card.

holder is? It's a US permanent resident, a foreign national who is here legally. on a permanent basis. So, none of this. squares up with their attack on. immigrants. None of this squares up with. their effort to prevent a national ID. card. And finally, Brian, what case are. we all watching in the US Supreme Court. right now? the birthright citizenship. case. Well, what happens there? All of a. sudden, birth certificates would no. longer prove US citizenship because the. Trump administration is trying to do. away with birthright citizenship. So,

this is all just one big smoke and. mirrors effort to try to make it harder. for you to vote, easier for them to. cheat, and don't get fooled by their. propaganda. I want to talk about the. question of whether forcing people to. get IDs which cost money is tantamount. to a pole tax. But first I want to note. uh that Mark has been fighting against. this stuff in the courts where it. matters most relentlessly for years and. years and years. A small step that. everybody watching right now could take. to support his work and his team's work.

where it matters in the courts is to. sign up for democracy docket which is. the news out outlet he founded focus on. everything voting in elections. I use it. on a daily basis. I use it for um to. find out about the Save America Act, which we're talking about right now. So. again, if you're not yet signed up, please go ahead and sign up. That link. is right here on the screen and also in. the post description of this video. >> Hey Brian, you know where I first met. the current uh solicitor general of the. United States. This is the guy that. Donald Trump appointed to argue cases of. the US Supreme Court. First time I met. him in the Missouri Supreme Court where.

I beat him before that Supreme Court, that state supreme court over Missouri's. photo ID law. So, as you said, I'm. fighting about this in court, but not. only we fighting, we're winning. >> So, I want to talk about poll taxes. Now, as I had mentioned before, is. forcing people to get an ID, which of. course we all know IDs are not free in. this country, is forcing somebody to get. an ID as a prerequisite to go and vote, is that basically akin to a pole tax? >> Look, if they don't offer a free. version, it is a pole tax and it would. be struck down on that basis. But even.

when they say it is free, it is never. free, right? You still have to pay to. get there, right? You may have to take. an Uber or take time off from work to. get it. But the bigger question I'd ask. you maybe the next time you're on. debating one of these complete. knuckleheads. You know, if you guys have. not subscribe to this channel, you need. to do so because first of all, you get. great news information analysis, but. also Brian takes on the right-wing. establishment. You know, I I I come on.

and I talk to Brian and and and try to. spread good information, but Brian goes. into the lion's den. He like goes on. with Piers Morgan and Chris Cuomo and on. CNN and takes it to these Republicans. and talks to these uh you know swing. voters and independent voters who watch. these programs and the next so I so I. want to make sure everyone subscribes to. this channel to support him and his work. in doing that because it's vitally. important. But Brian, next time you do. it, ask them why. Ask them why the. college ID that is given for free to.

college students that that shouldn't. count, right? I mean like like here it. is. Here's an example of a free ID that. does not actually inconvenience uh. people to get because you get it when. you enroll in colleges and that Brian. they took off the list. Maybe you could. ask uh one of those MAGA apologists why. they do that. >> Well, I I appreciate that. And in fact, I'm going to put the link to subscribe. to this channel right here on the. screen. So, if you're not yet. subscribed, please go ahead and. subscribe. Mark, you know, I I have. looked at the polling on this and when. people are asked about, you know, the.

issue of voter ID at the polls, it seems. to poll as an 8020 issue in Republicans. favor. And so, what's your response to. to that polling that shows that more. people in fact do support uh uh showing. photo ID at polls? >> Yeah, so first of all, we need to. distinguish between ID and photo ID. Like there are already ID requirements. for certain voters pursuant to federal. law. Right? If you have registered by. mail the first time you vote in person, you have to you have to show an ID, but.

that can include a utility bill. It can. include a lease, right? There are lots. of ways of proving identity that do not. require a photo ID. The second question. is does it have to be governmentissued. photo ID? Like you know, let's say you. work for a big corporation. You know, you're out in California. Let's say you. work for, you know, Disney or you work. for Google and you have a photo ID from. your employer that is recognized in that. community as, you know, an ID that is. oftentimes used for other purposes. Your. bank may use that ID, for example. Um,

why aren't you allowing those? But then. even within the scope of photo IDs, you. know, why are we limiting the kinds of. governmentissued photo IDs? You know, I. it's always struck me as odd that if I. have a Texas driver's license, it's good. enough to vote in Texas, but I can't use. that Texas voter uh driver's license to. vote if I just recently moved to Ohio. And if I'm in Ohio, it's good enough to. use in Ohio, but I can't use it in. Texas. Why is that? Why wouldn't it be.

that that if all we're worried about is. stateisssued ID, why does it have to be. the state you're you're from? Right. Right. And then finally, you get to the. question of what is the ID being used to. prove? Is it only being used to prove. that the person standing in front of you. is who they say they are, which you know. can be legitimate, right? You want to. make sure that I'm Mark Elias. Uh but. often times these state laws and the. federal laws are written to prove not. just who who you are uh standing in. front of them, but you know, they become. traps. Like for example, the address uh.

well, why does address matter if all. you're trying to do is prove identity? Hey Brian, you know what kind of photo. IDs don't have your address? Passports. So if a US passport is good enough. because all you're trying to do is. achieve identity, why then do we require. that the photo ID issued by a state have. a full address or have uh a current. address? Like there's all kinds of ways. that this ID question gets asked at a. topline that then when you look at the.

details of what Republicans are doing, it's actually a lot more. And finally, I'd add this. You know, there was a lot. of um there was a lot of discussion. among the rightwing about in Minnesota, and by the way, it's not just Minnesota. It's a whole bunch of states, including. a number of Republican states that allow. people who know the person who is voting. to serve as their ID by vouching for. them, by signing an affidavit saying, "Yep, the person standing in front of. you is the person you are." So if you. and I went to vote together, we live in.

different states, but let's say I was. out in California and you were going to. vote and I was going along with you and. you forgot your wallet at home, I could. sign an affidavit saying, "I know Brian. Tyler Conn, I know him personally. I've. met him. I'm familiar with him." And. this is Brian Tyler Conn. And so like, why isn't that good enough? And. particularly it was shocking to see the. attacks on um home uh healthcare aids. and nursing home aids uh who uh are. allowed to vouch for their patients. And. this was treated shamefully by the.

Republicans and the right-wing uh uh. activists as an evidence of fraud. Let. me ask you this. If you're 95 years old. and you're in a nursing home, you don't. have a driver's license, you have no. reason to have a passport, >> what better way to establish your. identity than for the nurse who takes. care of you every day to swear out that. you are the person you say you are, right? I mean, the effort to. disenfranchise elderly people in nursing. homes or who have home healthcare aids.

by somehow saying they need to have a. valid driver's license or passport and. that their home care aid can't swear. that they are who they say they are is. an absolute. u abomination. And it shows the moral. bankruptcy of a party that claims that. claims Brian to care about life, to care. about the elderly, to care about the. infirmed. And it just goes to show that. what they want to do is make it harder. for you and me to vote and and and. easier for them to cheat. And don't. anyone let let you uh tell you.

otherwise. Last question here, and that. was that was perfectly put. Um does the. fact that they're not going to get. Democratic approval on the Save America. Act, does that uh obviously imperil the. ability of Republicans to be able to. pass this bill? >> Brian, this is a five alarm fire all. hands- on deck moment. Okay. Republicans. are bringing this Save Act, this voter. suppression bill to the floor of the. House as their top priority and they are. going to jam it through one way or the. other. And then it goes to the Senate. And let's be honest, Donald Trump has.

already said he wants the filibuster. abolished. He is already pressuring John. Thun and Senate Republicans to abolish. it at least for this one bill. And so it. is time we all need to man the phones. and call our elected representatives, call our senators, call our members of. Congress, and also share this video, put. it on your social media feeds, share it. with your friends and your families. because Republicans are going to try to. abolish the filibuster to undermine. voting rights and it all begins with.

this bill. >> Could not agree more. Again, for those. who are watching right now, if you are. not yet subscribed to Democracy Docket, Democracy Docket has been covering this. relentlessly. one of the only outlets. that are covering this. So again, please. sign up if you haven't yet signed up. I'm going to put that link right here on. the screen and also in the post. description of this video. And if you. want to see more episodes of Democracy. Watch with me and Mark, that link is on. the screen as well. I'm Brian Taylor. Cohen. >> I'm Mark Elias. >> This is Democracy Watch. [music].