Ted Cruz Attempts To Add Voter ID To Immigration Reform Bill

The amendment, which he first announced on Twitter, is unlikely to make it into the eventual bill. Cruz voted three times — once in the Judiciary Committee and twice on the Senate floor — against moving the “gang of eight” bill forward even for debate, and is considered unwinnable as a “yes” vote for the legislation as a whole.

Still, he has attempted to add his own touches to the bill, such as stripping it of its path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The most recent amendment would touch on the equally contentious issue of whether would-be voters should be required to show identification to prove their citizenship before registering to vote.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier Monday that states cannot require people to prove their U.S. citizenship before using a federal voter registration system.

UPDATE: 6:30 p.m. — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced an amendment later Monday aimed at addressing voter ID issues brought up by the Supreme Court ruling. According to a statement, his “Secure the Vote” amendment is meant to ensure immigrants do not vote until they become citizens — they are already banned from doing so — by providing “new procedures to enable states to check that individuals gaining status or a work visa are not illegally registered to vote.”

“Not only would this amendment prevent voter fraud, it would also clear up the problem created by today`s Supreme Court decision,” Paul said in a statement. “My amendment requires states to check citizenship before registering people to vote in federal elections.”

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