Senator Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., is proposing a bill that would require states that mandate vaccine passports to also mandate voter identification.
In a statement, Cramer said that “[I]f states that take federal money for elections feel the need to make residents verify a piece of information as private as their vaccination status just to return to normalcy, then they should have no problem requiring people to prove they are who they say they are when they go to vote,” adding that the legislation would “ensure those states are being consistent about their identification requirements and shine a light on those who hypocritically oppose Voter ID laws but support vaccine passports.”
Cramer’s bill comes after New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that the city would require city residents and visitors to prove that they received a coronavirus vaccine in order to visit restaurants, entertainment venues and gyms. New York is the first city to implement these mandates. Twenty states, including Cramer’s state of North Dakota, have banned the idea of vaccine passports.
Cramer plans to introduce his bill both as a standalone piece of legislation and as an amendment to Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending plan.