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Pew: 76% of Black Americans, 82% of Latinos, 83% of All Americans Support Voter ID — Democrats Are Alone

The numbers are in, the source is Pew Research, and the political problem for Democrats is not getting smaller.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in August 2025 found that 83% of U.S. adults support requiring all voters to show government-issued photo identification at the polls — up from 77% in a comparable Pew poll conducted in 2012. Support spans every major demographic group: 85% of White adults, 82% of Hispanic adults, 77% of Asian American adults, and 76% of Black adults favor the requirement. Even 71% of self-identified Democrats support it. Just The News

The numbers arrived just as Congress was wrestling with the SAVE America Act, the Republican-backed federal bill that would require photo ID nationwide. The House passed the bill. In the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to break a filibuster, every Senate Democrat has voted against advancing it — even as their own voters, by wide margins, support the underlying policy. WisPolitics

When Democratic lawmakers were asked by the Washington Times to explain their opposition in light of the polling, several struggled to answer. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pivoted away from the photo ID question entirely when pressed, instead raising other provisions of the SAVE America Act. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) said he doesn’t oppose voter ID in concept, but objects to the Republican version because it excludes student IDs while accepting military IDs. Yahoo!

Senate Majority Leader John Thune responded to the Jim Crow comparisons that Democrats have historically used against voter ID, saying the framing “insults the overwhelming majority of Americans — including minorities — who look at voter ID and see nothing more than common sense.” Wisconsin Examiner

There is one legitimate concern buried in the polling picture worth noting. The same Pew survey that found 83% support for voter ID also found broad majorities backing expanded early voting, same-day registration, and automatic voter registration. In other words, most Americans who support voter ID are not trying to make voting harder — they support both verification and access. The University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement notes that millions of Americans currently lack qualifying government-issued ID, and that some eligible voters stay home from the polls incorrectly believing they need ID in states that don’t require it. The Gateway Pundit

Wisconsin Watch — right here in your backyard — has also documented the Pew numbers and noted that support for voter ID has risen most sharply among Democrats since 2018, driven in part by the fact that photo ID is now required for nearly every routine transaction in American life.

Sources: Pew Research Center — August 2025 | NBC News | Washington Times | Wisconsin Watch | White House Fact Sheet