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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is comparing the lack of a federal voter ID law to an identification requirement at one of America’s most well-known chain restaurants.
“If you want to go buy unlimited pasta at the Olive Garden, they said you have to show your ID,” Scalise told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this week.
He also pointed out that the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) required attendees to show ID in order to enter the venue.
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“Democrats are saying it somehow impedes people’s ability to participate, yet Democrats themselves wouldn’t even let you go to their convention without showing ID,” Scalise said. “I’m not against them having to require ID – but by the way, everybody understands it, and everybody gets it in polling. You know, if you’re Black, if you’re White, if you are Hispanic, if you’re Republican, or Democrat, or Independent, you understand that an ID makes sense because it protects your right to vote.”
He also listed boarding a plane and buying “a six-pack of beer” as situations where a photo ID was required as well.
“How about the franchise of American democracy? Let’s make sure you are who you say you are and illegals can’t vote in American elections,” Scalise said.
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Republicans have emphasized polling showing broad support for voter ID requirements as their main argument against Democrats’ opposition to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which was advanced by the House multiple times but has stalled in the Senate.
Democrats have argued the election integrity package is tantamount to voter suppression, claiming it would make it harder for married women who have changed their names to vote and make absentee voting more burdensome. Another provision in SAVE America that’s angering Democrats would allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) comprehensive access to states’ voter rolls.
But Republicans say that’s not true. The SAVE America Act, among other provisions, would mandate proof of citizenship in the voter registration process and implement a federal photo ID requirement to vote in U.S. elections.
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And Republicans have seized on a temporary promotion at the Italian-American restaurant chain Olive Garden as the latest example of the commonsense reasoning behind photo ID.
Earlier this month, the restaurant chain unveiled a “Never-ending pasta pass,” which would give 10,000 customers unlimited pasta for dine-in visits across 13 weeks, for the price of $100.
The Olive Garden website states that “Passholders must present a photo I.D. along with Pass at time of ordering” to ensure one pass is not being shared by multiple people.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., referenced the promotion during debate on a separate voter ID measure earlier this week, which Democrats also opposed.
“The never ending pasta bowl is back at Olive Garden. I used to work at Olive Garden, so this hit close to home. But to safeguard the integrity of their pasta program, Olive Garden, as you may have seen, implemented photo ID requirements,” Steil said. “However, in jurisdictions across the country from Illinois and California or Minnesota, an individual can go to the polls on Election Day and cast a ballot without providing confirmation, without providing confirmation of their identity.”
That measure, which would require photo voter ID even when sending mail-in ballots, passed the House earlier this week with the help of just 13 Democrats.
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