Wisconsin US Sen. Tammy Baldwin Opposes GOP Bill to Restrict Voting
Democrat said she's 'highly suspicious' of laws making it harder to vote
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Senate Democrats, (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said Friday she’s “very” opposed to a GOP bill moving through Congress that would tighten voting access nationwide.
The legislation, dubbed the “SAVE Act” by its GOP backers, would tighten the voting process nationwide, requiring proof of citizenship to register, eliminating mail-only registrations and requiring photo identification nationwide for the first time.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and President Donald Trump have shown their support for the plan. The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on it next week.
Voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, oppose the GOP bill, calling it “a dangerous step toward voter suppression.”
Speaking to reporters in Milwaukee Friday, Baldwin expressed a similar sentiment.
“I am highly suspicious of any legislation that makes it harder for people to exercise their constitutional right to vote and to intimidate people from accessing the ballot box,” Baldwin said.
The Democratic senator also mentioned her wariness of a letter sent to Minnesota officials by U.S. Attorney General Bondi suggesting that fewer immigration enforcement agents would be deployed if the state turned over its voting lists.
Baldwin’s comments came a day after Johnson posted pictures on social media showing him meeting with Trump and other Republicans about the GOP voting bill. During a telephone town hall earlier in the week, he voiced support for the plan.
“I do believe it’s fitting and proper to set some basic standards for federal elections, like only citizens can vote in federal elections,” Johnson said Tuesday.
More than 21 million voting-age American citizens do not have access to citizenship documents, according to a 2024 review by the Brennan Center for Justice.
Wisconsin already requires that residents present a photo ID to vote.
US Rep. Gwen Moore speaks out against Trump plan to ‘take over’ elections
Earlier this week, Trump also called for the Republican Party to “nationalize” or “take over” election administration in 15 states. He did not name them or provide details.
In an interview Friday with PBS Wisconsin’s Here & Now, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said Trump’s suggestion was a clear violation of the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“The Constitution, which the president seems to readily and often and frequently ignore, says that states shall run the elections,” Moore said. “So this is yet another unconstitutional thing that President Trump and his sycophants want to do.”
Baldwin told reporters Friday she’d been following the president’s comments closely.
Johnson said Tuesday he did “not want to see us nationalizing elections.”
Wisconsin US Sen. Tammy Baldwin speaks out against GOP bill to restrict voting was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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