Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced her support for the SAVE America Act, but won't go as far as to nuke the Senate filibuster. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"I support the version of the SAVE America Act that recently passed the House," Collins said in a statement first reported by the Maine Wire. "The law is clear that in this country only American citizens are eligible to vote in federal elections."
"In addition, having people provide an ID at the polls, just as they have to do before boarding an airplane, checking into a hotel, or buying an alcoholic beverage, is a simple reform that will improve the security of our federal elections and will help give people more confidence in the results," she continued.
Collins noted that she did not support the previous version of the bill, known simply as the SAVE Act, because it "would have required people to prove their citizenship every single time they cast a ballot."
ONLY ONE HOUSE DEM VOTED IN FAVOR OF VOTER ID, PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP IN US ELECTIONS
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., supports voter ID laws, but acknowledged that there aren't the votes in the Senate to nuke the filibuster to pass it. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Complicating matters, Collins made clear that she does not support doing away with the filibuster, as do several other Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who reiterated earlier this week that the GOP doesn’t have the votes to eliminate the legislative tool.
"I oppose eliminating the legislative filibuster," Collins said. "The filibuster is an important protection for the rights of the minority party that requires Senators to work together in the best interest of the country."
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"Removing that protection would, for example, allow a future Congress controlled by Democrats to pass provisions on anything they want — D.C. statehood, open borders, or packing the Supreme Court — with just a simple majority of Senators," she continued.
GOP senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, remain the only Republicans who have not pledged support for the SAVE Act.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/collins-boosts-republican-voter-id-effort-wont-scrap-filibuster