On the way to stopping SAVE.

Senate Democrats defeat amendment to require photo ID to vote.

Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted (R), Ohio’s former secretary of state, to require voters to show photo ID when casting ballots in person or voting by mail, despite previous statements by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) that Democrats support photo ID requirements for elections.

The Senate voted 52-47 to defeat the amendment, which needed 60 votes to be adopted.

No Democrat voted for it.

The photo ID requirement for elections is a core piece of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which the Senate is debating this week, but Husted sought to put his Democratic colleagues on record on requiring photo ID to vote as a stand-alone matter.

The SAVE America Act includes other reforms, such as requiring people to show documented proof of citizenship, such as birth certificates or passports, when registering to vote.

Husted cited Schumer’s comment earlier this month that Democrats support requiring voters to show ID when voting.

Schumer told reporters in a March 15 press call that Democrats included a voter ID provision in their Freedom to Vote Act, which they introduced in 2021 when they controlled the Senate.

“Democrats support voter ID. In fact, we included it and it is included in our Freedom to Vote legislation several years ago. So, we’re not opposed,” Schumer said at the time.

Husted said his amendment would give every Senate Democrat the chance to show that’s true.

“We’re going to take them at their word and offer an opportunity to turn those words into action,” Husted said on the floor before the vote. “The Senate will take a roll call vote on a clean, simple,
straightforward amendment of mine to require a photo ID to vote in American elections. Nothing more. Straightforward. That’s it.”

Husted said his proposal would allow voters to show a driver’s license, a state ID, a passport, a military veterans ID or a tribal ID.

Schumer stood up on the floor to slam Husted’s proposal as another attempt by Republicans to suppress votes in the upcoming midterm election.

“Republicans have an amendment on the floor dressed up as common-sense voter ID. This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and it’s a giant cover-up, which is voter suppression, kicking people off the rolls without their knowledge or consent,” Schumer said.

“The point is not about voter ID. In fact, 99 percent of the SAVE Act doesn’t have to do with voter ID,” he claimed.

Husted said Schumer’s response was a “misrepresentation” of the facts because his amendment was narrowly drafted to deal only with voter ID.

Schumer also criticized the amendment for requiring voters to submit photocopies of IDs when submitting absentee ballots, arguing it would infringe on voters’ right to secrecy.

He said that voters would “have to add a photo ID with their ballot, so the election officials would up the envelope and could see how you voted.”

“The sacred secrecy of our ballot would be undone by this amendment,” he said. “Anyone who voted by mail would have to put a voter ID inside the envelope, and the board of elections would have to open it up and see how you voted,” he added. “It would violate basic privacy.” (The Hill)

When will the Kennedy Center be the Kennedy Center again?

Maybe sooner than we think, if Congresswoman Joyce Beatty has her way.

Congresswoman Beatty is trying.

Rep. Joyce Beatty Seeks Court Order To Take Donald Trump’s Name Off The Kennedy Center, Halt Planned Closure

An Ohio congresswoman is asking a judge to issue an order to take Donald Trump‘s name off the Kennedy Center, contending that the board of the arts institution violated the law in that only Congress can make such a change.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) also is asking the court to block the shutdown of the center, which is planned for July, arguing that the board conducted no expert review or consultation but merely followed Trump’s decision to close it. Trump, who is chairman of the board of the center, announced plans for the closure in a social media post February 1, saying such a drastic step was needed as the complex undergoes renovations.

Her attorneys contended that only Congress can change the center’s name, as they designated it as the “sole memorial” to President John F. Kennedy in legislation that passed in 1964, just months after his assassination.

“There is no clearer or more significant breach of fiduciary duty than the Board flouting the central purpose of the institution it is charged with protecting and which Congress enshrined into law: to maintain the Center as a memorial to John F. Kennedy — and to no one else,” Beatty’s legal team wrote in a motion for partial summary judgment.

The board voted in December to rename the center and, a day after the board’s action, a crew added Trump’s name to the outside of the center, while the name change was represented on the website and social media, among other places. Beatty, an ex officio member, protested that she was prohibited from participating or voting at the board meeting, and filed the lawsuit later that month.

A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center did not immediately return a request for comment.

In a motion filed in federal court in Washington on Wednesday, Beatty’s legal team claims that the board’s actions, for the renaming and the closure, breach their fiduciary obligations. (Deadline)

Here is Congresswoman Beatty’s motion to remove the Trump name

On June 28, when this happens.👇

Bill Maher will win Kennedy Center's Mark Twain humor prize after White House denial

WASHINGTON -- Bill Maher will win the prestigious Mark Twain humor prize, the Kennedy Center said Thursday, less than a week after the White House forcefully denied that the comedian, who has had a hot-and-cold relationship with President Donald Trump, would win it.

“For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy,” Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center's vice president of public relations, said in a statement. “For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse — one politically incorrect joke at a time.”

Maher said in a statement that he “just had the award explained to me, and apparently it’s like an Emmy, except I win.”

After The Atlantic reported last week that Maher would win the award, the White House pushed back hard. White House communications director Steven Cheung said on social media that the story was “literally FAKE NEWS.”

The White House didn't immediately comment on the award Thursday.

The Kennedy Center has presented the award since 1998 as a way to recognize those who have made significant contributions to humor and commentary in the United States. Previous winners include Conan O'Brien, Dave Chappelle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Letterman, Carol Burnett and Tina Fey.

The award will be presented on June 28, just before Trump plans to close the Kennedy Center for renovations expected to last about two years. Since returning to office, the Republican president has wielded tremendous influence over the venue, ousting its previous leadership and replacing it with a handpicked board of trustees that named him chairman.

The board added Trump's name to the Kennedy Center and approved the closure, actions that have prompted legal proceedings that are ongoing. (ABC News)

More about others of the 8 Democratic women governors.

1. Kathy Hochul — New York

2. Maura Healey — Massachusetts
3. Tina Kotek — Oregon
4. Gretchen Whitmer — Michigan
5. Laura Kelly — Kansas
6. Michelle Lujan Grisham — New Mexico
7. Janet Mills — Maine
8. Katie Hobbs — Arizona

Trump off the rails.

A new regular feature of the Roundup.

Off the rails but upsetting to us all.

The International Olympic Committee takes a stand.

What a story.

Tomorrow.