Rep. Byron Donalds Swears by Voter ID Laws, Calls Opposition “Fear Mongering”
Rafael Espinal, commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), from left, Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, and Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, during an announcement in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. Mamdani on Monday announced the appointment of Rafael Espinal as commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). Photographer: John Lamparski/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., has pledged full support for an executive order from President Trump requiring voter identification to participate in federal elections.
In a recent interview, Donalds stated he would back the proposed executive order despite legal uncertainties. “It remains to be seen if it’s going to stand up to scrutiny of the Supreme Court because ultimately, that’s where that would land,” he said.
Donalds emphasized Florida’s voter ID system has been reliable for decades. “We have voter ID, we’ve had it for as long as I’ve lived in Florida; that’s 30 years. It’s never been a problem for anybody being able to cast their ballot in the great state of Florida,” he added.
He condemned Democratic opposition to voter ID as “fear mongering” revealing what he called their true agenda. Donalds cited Minnesota, where one voter could sponsor up to seven others during elections, as an example of “crazy” practices. “That stuff is crazy,” he said. “But that’s what they do.”
He also criticized Oregon’s approach, noting it sends absentee ballots to all voters on its list regardless of activity status: “They send mail, they do all mail-in balloting. They send absentee ballots to everybody on their voter list, regardless if they’re an active voter or not. Again. Crazy.”
Donalds expressed hope that if Congress fails to pass the SAVE America Act—which would mandate voter IDs for federal elections—President Trump would issue an executive order to fill the gap. “I think that the president moving with an EO… I would love to support that,” he said.
The SAVE America Act faces uncertainty in the Senate this year, though Republican leaders are exploring ways to bypass the filibuster rule and secure a simple majority vote for presidential approval.
