They did it; it’s done. Yesterday the New York Times ran a whiny story headlined, “Florida Republicans Pass Bill Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote.” The funniest line: “The votes in both chambers were along strict partisan lines, with all Democrats against the measure.” Good thing we have a Republican super-majority here in the Sunshine State.
“The bill would make Florida the most populous state in the country to impose proof-of-citizenship requirements on voters,” the Times reported. “This is about the integrity of our elections,” said terrific State Senator Erin Grall. Under the bill, all Floridians would have to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when they register to vote. But, to avoid chaos, every existing voter’s citizenship will be automatically checked against existing government databases, such as Real ID.
Only after no citizenship document appears in state or federal databases, the local elections supervisor must notify the voter by mail. To remain registered, the voter must bring proof of citizenship down to their county elections office.
What rankled Democrats the most is that easily forged student IDs will no longer be allowed as voter identification. Sad! The skulls full of mush will have to find where they left their driver’s licenses. Our republic is hanging by a thread!
According to the article, fewer than 2% of registered Floridians lack Real IDs. Apparently, the electoral apocalypse has a 98% survival rate. That didn’t stop Democrats from unanimously going down against the bill because disenfranchisement. “That is absolutely terrible,” State Senator Tina Polsky (D-Boca) said. “Out-of-state students in Florida who do not drive,” she explained, would have to bring a passport or birth certificate to the elections office. The horror.
The story was a textbook example of “balanced” coverage that leans hard in only one direction. It was like a “balanced diet” made of one carrot stick and fourteen donuts. (Readers also noticed several weird typos, such as “this or her” instead of “his or her,” which was bizarre; but as Trump keeps saying, the Times is failing. Ironic that they flubbed a pronoun.)
The Times gave Florida’s proof‑of‑citizenship bill exactly one substantive pro‑bill quote from a Republican sponsor about “integrity” and “trust,” plus a drive‑by line that DeSantis supports it, then stacked the rest of the piece with opponents, activists, and court cases explaining why the law was unnecessary, dangerous, and probably counterproductive.
Two Democrat‑aligned voices were quoted at length, multiple “nonpartisan” organizations and court records were marshaled to ‘show’ the law disenfranchises legitimate voters, out‑of‑state horror stories from Arizona and Kansas were paraded as cautionary tales, and the reporters helpfully informed readers that non‑citizen voting is “exceptionally rare” and Florida has found “little evidence” of the problem the bill is supposed to fix— using a system that doesn’t check citizenship to prove that non-citizens don’t vote. Classic circular reasoning.
The Times provided not a single expert, study, or data point on the pro- side of the ledger.
If the Times covered a football game the same way, the score would be mentioned once, and the rest of the article would explain why the losing team was actually right.
Anyway, Florida has done it. Now it’s Congress’s turn to pass the SAVE America Act.
🔥 Speaking of which, yesterday, CNBC reported, “Trump-backed SAVE America Act will get a Senate vote next week, Thune says.” Pundits are complaining about Thune’s lack of any promise to fix the filibuster. “He made no mention of changing the chamber’s rules, all but assuring the proposal will not pass,” CNBC said.
The problem with being too critical is that Thune hasn’t said he won’t require a talking filibuster, either. So it is obvious that he is keeping his political cards close to the vest. Thune is playing this one like a poker player at a table full of reporters— showing nothing. Whether that’s strategy or paralysis, we’ll find out next week when the moment of truth arrives. I suggest encouragement over criticism.
