Mike Lee says Utah would adapt to vote-by-mail restrictions considered by Senate

SALT LAKE CITY — As senators debate an election bill pushed by Sen. Mike Lee, the Utah Republican said he's confident state officials would be able to adapt to the changes that could take effect with midterm elections already underway across the country.

And although the bill faces a tough road in the Senate, where some Republicans have already expressed opposition and some Democrats would need to sign on for it to clear the 60-vote threshold, Lee said Republicans "need to debate this as long as it takes to get it done."

"I think it would be a suicidal move for us as Senate Republicans — for Republicans in general — if we don't put everything we've got into this," Lee said at a press conference Wednesday. He added that immediately moving ahead with a procedural vote without continuing what could be a lengthy debate would be "a profound mistake."

The Senate began debate on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, on Tuesday, kicking off what could be days of floor debate. The bill, which has passed the House, would add new requirements that voters present proof of citizenship and a photo ID to vote.

Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and Democrats largely oppose the bill, saying it would make it harder for millions of Americans to vote.

President Donald Trump has said he won't sign other bills into law until the bill is passed, but proposed changes to the Senate bill that would also restrict mail-in voting, ban gender-related surgeries for minors and limit transgender participation in sports could complicate its future.

Utah is one of several states that allows all citizens to vote by mail. The mail-in voting restrictions proposed in the SAVE America Act would take effect immediately if enacted, meaning Utah and other states could be forced to scramble ahead of the midterm elections.

"Should that amendment pass and the bill as a whole become law with that in there, I'm confident that Utah can catch up and that other states can do that as well," Lee said.

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican and the state's top election official, disagreed in a post on social media Wednesday, arguing that if the goal is mandating voter ID or proof of citizenship, "and it's really not about disenfranchising a bunch of voters, then states and voters need an onramp with time to prepare."

"That's not what's happening with the SAVE America Act," she wrote. "This bill would be effective immediately in the middle of an election year. It would be impossible to implement, on top of all its other problems."

She noted that Utah law already requires voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote, and said the SAVE America Act would violate the constitutional right to a secret ballot because it would require voters to include a copy of their ID with ballots returned by mail.

Lee has previously pushed for Utah to require that voters return mailed ballots in person, but said the state "handles mail-in balloting in a manner that is safer than how most states handle it."

"We don't allow ballot harvesting. We've got pretty good signature verification procedures in place to discourage the risk of cheating, of fraud, one way or another," he said. "Nonetheless, there are reasons why, in the past, the United States has chosen not to go in that direction."

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said the added proposals could make it harder for the bill to pass, but suggested that getting Democrats on board with requiring proof of citizenship could ensure durable policy even if Democrats take back control in Washington.

"By the way, that's the law, so this shouldn't be hard to get in there," he told KSL's "Inside Sources" last week. "We can work through that and get to a happy place on it and pick up some Democrats' votes, and then we have this in law and it won't flip back."

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