Bill
S. 5271 (119th): A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voters to provide photo identification.
A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voters to provide photo identification.
Summary
Recorded summary
The bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voters in federal elections to present valid physical photo identification before receiving a ballot. Individuals without ID may cast provisional ballots, but must present the required ID or a religious-objection affidavit within three days for the ballot to count. Absentee and other non-in-person methods require a copy of photo ID, or the last four Social Security digits plus an affidavit stating the voter cannot obtain a copy after reasonable efforts. Overseas military voters and certain disabled or elderly voters are exempt. States must, to the extent practicable, provide public access to digital imaging devices so voters can make free copies of their ID. The requirements take effect one day after enactment.
Theological note: This bill bears on the civil ethics of honest, orderly elections and the equitable treatment of citizens in the franchise. Scripture's concern for truthful weights and measures and for justice toward the poor and vulnerable makes both election integrity and equal access to the vote relevant considerations. The religious-objection accommodation touches conscience. This is issue relevance only, not a final candidate judgment; the central dispute is a prudential question about how best to secure fair and accurate elections.
Scoring
How this bill is scored
- Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
- Lane: civil_order. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
- Lane: election_integrity. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
- Lane: voter_id. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
- Lane: voting_access. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
- Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
- Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
- Roll 231: On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 5271. Vote type: cloture.
- Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The measure combines a prudential goal of verifying voter identity and protecting election integrity with real concerns about possible burdens on eligible voters, including access for the poor, elderly, and disabled and the practical effect of short cure deadlines. It does not directly advance a named moral harm, nor does it directly restrain one. Under the framework, this is an ordinary civil-policy dispute best classed as mixed rather than as a hard moral verdict.
- Theological note: This bill bears on the civil ethics of honest, orderly elections and the equitable treatment of citizens in the franchise. Scripture's concern for truthful weights and measures and for justice toward the poor and vulnerable makes both election integrity and equal access to the vote relevant considerations. The religious-objection accommodation touches conscience. This is issue relevance only, not a final candidate judgment; the central dispute is a prudential question about how best to secure fair and accurate elections.
Debt and war Cloture and Tier 1 Procedural votes Scoring mechanics
Roll
Recorded votes
Roll 231 · August 8, 2026, 04:36 AM · On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed S. 5271 · Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected (52-46, 3/5 majority required)
Yea
- ARMSTRONG, ALAN
- BANKS, JAMES E. HON.
- BARRASSO, JOHN A
- BLACKBURN, MARSHA MRS.
- BOOZMAN, SEN. JOHN
- BRITT, KATIE BOYD
- BUDD, THEODORE P
- CAPITO, SHELLEY MOORE
- CASSIDY, WILLIAM M.
- COLLINS, SUSAN M.
- CORNYN, JOHN SEN
- COTTON, THOMAS
- CRAMER, KEVIN MR.
- CRAPO, MICHAEL D
- CRUZ, RAFAEL EDWARD TED
- CURTIS, JOHN
- DAINES, STEVE
- ERNST, JONI K
- FISCHER, DEBRA S.
- GRAHAM NORDONE, DARLINE
- GRASSLEY, CHARLES E
- HAGERTY, BILL
- HAWLEY, JOSHUA DAVID SEN
- HOEVEN, JOHN
- HUSTED, JON
- HYDE-SMITH, CINDY
- JOHNSON, RON HAROLD MR.
- JUSTICE, JAMES CONLEY II
- KENNEDY, JOHN NEELY
- LANKFORD, JAMES PAUL
- LEE, MIKE
- LUMMIS, CYNTHIA MARIE MRS.
- MARSHALL, ROGER W
- MCCORMICK, DAVE
- MOODY, ASHLEY
- MORAN, JERRY
- MORENO, BERNIE
- MURKOWSKI, LISA
- PAUL, RAND
- RICKETTS, PETE
- RISCH, JAMES E MR.
- ROUNDS, MIKE
- SCHMITT, ERIC
- SCOTT, RICK SEN
- SCOTT, TIMOTHY E.
- SHEEHY, TIM
- SULLIVAN, DAN
- THUNE, JOHN R.
- TILLIS, THOM R SEN
- TUBERVILLE, THOMAS H
- WICKER, ROGER SEN.
- YOUNG, TODD CHRISTOPHER
Nay
- ALSOBROOKS, ANGELA
- BALDWIN, TAMMY
- BENNET, MICHAEL F.
- BLUMENTHAL, RICHARD
- BLUNT ROCHESTER, LISA
- BOOKER, CORY A.
- CANTWELL, MARIA
- COONS, CHRISTOPHER A.
- CORTEZ MASTO, CATHERINE
- DUCKWORTH, L. TAMMY
- DURBIN, RICHARD J.
- FETTERMAN, JOHN KARL
- GALLEGO, RUBEN
- GILLIBRAND, KIRSTEN
- HASSAN, MARGARET WOOD
- HEINRICH, MARTIN
- HICKENLOOPER, JOHN W.
- HIRONO, MAZIE K.
- KAINE, TIMOTHY MICHAEL
- KELLY, MARK
- KIM, ANDY
- KING, ANGUS S. JR.
- KLOBUCHAR, AMY
- LUJAN, BEN RAY
- MARKEY, EDWARD SEN.
- MERKLEY, JEFFREY ALAN
- MURPHY, CHRISTOPHER S
- MURRAY, PATTY
- OSSOFF, T. JONATHAN
- PADILLA, ALEX
- PETERS, GARY
- REED, JOHN F.
- ROSEN, JACKY
- SANDERS, BERNARD
- SCHATZ, BRIAN
- SCHIFF, ADAM
- SCHUMER, CHARLES E.
- SHAHEEN, JEANNE
- SLOTKIN, ELISSA
- SMITH, TINA
- VAN HOLLEN, CHRIS
- WARNER, MARK ROBERT
- WARNOCK, RAPHAEL
- WARREN, ELIZABETH
- WHITEHOUSE, SHELDON
- WYDEN, RONALD L.