Republican Senator John Cornyn got a firsthand lesson in why the SAVE Act, backed by President Donald Trump, would suppress votes if passed.At a Senate Judiciary hearing Thursday, Cornyn said, “I don’t understand how [the SAVE Act] could disenfranchise millions of Americans. Maybe you could explain.” His Democratic colleague, Dick Durbin, was happy to oblige. After thanking Cornyn for his question, Durbin explained that the voter ID requirements of the bill are not satisfied by a driver’s license, but only a passport.“Fifty percent of Americans do not have a passport. Those who want to obtain it so they can vote will pay $186 and wait three or four weeks for that to happen,” Durbin said. “Secondly, you can use a birth certificate, but any person who has changed their name as a result of a marriage … has to find not only their birth certificate, but some correction of it to prove that they are eligible to register to vote.“It’s estimated that nine percent of the voters in America do not have the identification required by this bill. It means that, ultimately, those people will not be voting. And I think that is the ultimate goal of this administration,” Durbin continued. This was news to Cornyn, who asked if these concerns could be addressed by the amendment process. Durbin responded, “When’s the last time we amended a bill?”Sen. CORNYN: I don’t get how the SAVE Act disenfranchises.Sen. DURBIN: Happy to explain. Drivers licenses don’t work. 50% of Americans don’t have passports.Cornyn: Amend it?Durbin: When’s the last time the Senate amended a bill? pic.twitter.com/hPCogUjOOv— Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryDems) March 12, 2026Durbin is correctly pointing out that the SAVE Act seems designed to make it harder to vote—particularly for lower-income Americans and married women who change their names—rather than tackle voter fraud, which is practically nonexistent anyway. Trump administration officials, such as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, have admitted as much. Meanwhile, Trump has made it his priority over everything else, even stuff Americans want, because he wants to rig elections in his favor.