The Stack: Why Democrats Call Voter ID Jim Crow
Calls to protect election integrity are once again being labeled “Jim Crow” by Democrats who know the charge is inflammatory—even when it’s historically false. In today’s Stack, Todd Huff breaks down the misinformation coming from Senator Chuck Schumer and the media regarding the SAVE Act and the Save America Act. These proposals simply require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and, in the case of the Save America Act, photo ID at the polls.
Todd explains why these measures are overwhelmingly popular with Americans across party lines and why comparing them to actual Jim Crow laws collapses under even minimal scrutiny. He walks through the real history of poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and segregation statutes—and who actually passed them. This episode is a direct response to political gaslighting designed to confuse voters and protect a broken system. Election integrity isn’t oppression. It’s accountability.
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📝 Transcript: Why Democrats Call Voter ID Jim Crow
The Todd Huff Show – February 6, 2026
Host: Todd Huff
Todd Huff: All right, my friends, let the gaslighting commence. Let the misinformation be poured upon the American people, out of the mouths of people like Chuck Schumer and these other Democrats. As we talk about election integrity, as we talk about the SAVE Act, there’s also now the Save America Act, which is designed to make our elections safer, to make sure that people who are not supposed to be casting ballots in our elections are not able to do so. And I guess the left wants to defend the so-called rights—of course they don’t have a right—the rights of people to cast ballots in elections they’re not even citizens in and not legally permitted to vote in. Let them defend that, because it is an incredibly unpopular thing. What is very popular is the concept of voter identification, which we’ll talk about here today.
Todd Huff: I’ve got a soundbite from Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader in the Senate, spewing nonsense as per usual. We’ll get to that. We’ll have a discussion. We’ll talk about Jim Crow laws. They’re bringing out all of the dog whistles here. They’re bringing out all the gaslighting, all the misinformation, all the dramatic activity designed to mislead the American people as to what Republicans really want. And I’m here to explain what we really want—at least what I really want and the people that I know really want. We’ll talk about that, my friends, throughout the program today.
Todd Huff: Let me rephrase this, reframe this, or I guess refresh our discussion of this, because I talked about this recently. So the SAVE Act—there are people, Republicans, that want to tie this to the appropriations fight that’s happening right now. Trump had basically gotten them to put that off and to just have the appropriations. I think we’ll see how the final fight over funding DHS plays out. We’ve talked about these things before. If you want more background into this, you can certainly go to our website where we write about these things. You can get the transcripts of this show. The past couple of days this week, we’ve talked about these things. So I don’t want to rehash all of that for our listeners who are here each and every day. But if you missed that episode—shame on you. I’m kidding. But you can go back and listen to the previous episodes or read the transcripts on the website.
Todd Huff: The best thing to do is get the newsletter, because you can go back to previous issues. That goes out every day. It’s a summary of the show. It goes into a little bit more depth of what we didn’t have time to get into today. In fact, I covered things in yesterday’s newsletter I didn’t have time to get to yesterday, which I told you I would. So that’s just toddhuffshow.com. Regardless, I don’t want to rehash all of this. And so what I want to do is just kind of give you the bullet points. So there’s the SAVE Act. The SAVE Act is a piece of legislation that is on the front side of voter ID, if you want to call it that—voter identification law. And you might be shocked to realize that there is nothing that is required in the vast majority of this country when you register to vote that says you can prove that you’re an American citizen. In fact, there’s a little checkbox that says, “I attest to the fact that I’m legally allowed to vote, and I’m an American citizen.” That’s it. Just a little checkbox. And if you’re thinking like a criminal, if you’re thinking like someone who wants to game the system, it’s a little checkbox. You’re already doing a bunch of stuff that’s illegal. What’s one more little checkbox, right? It’s silly, but that’s what we have.
Todd Huff: Some states have a process where you have to provide documentation on the front side that proves that you are an American citizen. Now, there’s about ten states, as I recall, that have laws on the books. But most of them are incomplete, or they aren’t actually enforcing or implementing the law. So there’s just a couple of places that I think are doing anything remotely close to this. And that may be shocking to you. So again, just think about the steps here. Think about the steps and all the vulnerabilities that are wide open here. We’ve got a process where you can register to vote in the United States, to vote in federal elections, where there is no documentation required to prove that you’re a citizen. You just have to check a box that says that you’re a citizen. And it can be as easy as that in some states.
Todd Huff: Now, some states have—like my state here, which we’ll talk a little bit about in Indiana—Indiana has the additional step of requiring a photo ID at the polls. And they’ve also called—the left, the Democrat Party, people like Chuck Schumer—have called things like that racist and an attempt to keep people from voting, voter suppression, all that sort of stuff. Because requiring someone to have some form of identification is apparently oppressive and makes it impossible to vote, especially if you listen to the left. If you’re a minority or a woman, I guess they don’t think people know how to get identification. Do you realize how offensive that is if you’re a minority or a woman, and you listen to how these clowns talk about you all day?
Todd Huff: They don’t think people know how to get an ID. You don’t have the means to get a license, or you just don’t have the means—you can’t. Only if you’re a woman or a minority, I guess. And I actually remember one of these man-on-the-street interviews. I forget who did it, and I don’t intentionally mean that I don’t remember who did it, but this person went to a liberal university and was talking about voter ID laws. All these white elitist liberals were saying, “Oh yes, it’s racist because Blacks, minorities, they can’t get an identification. That’s oppressive.” All these things. Then the guy—whoever it was, I wish I could remember, you may have seen this as well—he goes to Harlem, New York, and he asks the people on the street, have you had—do you have an ID? He asks Black people on the street, “Yeah, we have identification. What kind of a question is that?” “Did you have a difficult time getting it?” “No, I just went to the local driver BMV or whatever they call it in New York. I just went to the government office to get my driver’s license. What are you talking about?”
Todd Huff: “Well, these white liberals think you can’t get an identification.” “What about the people you know? Are the people you know in your community having a hard time?” “Look, I don’t know anybody that can’t get an identification.” In fact, one guy said it’s at the corner of 16th Street and Capital or whatever it was. “It’s right there. You just go in there and you get your ID.” It’s so patently offensive. And it’s the same thing here. Chuck Schumer saying if you require someone to show—prove that they are a citizen—he didn’t go into the details, but basically that is akin to Jim Crow laws.
Todd Huff: Now, let’s pause for a moment. Let’s pause for a moment and let’s talk about Jim Crow laws, because a lot of people hear these things and a lot of people don’t know what they are. First of all, let me tell you, Jim Crow was not a real person. Jim Crow was a caricature—a racist caricature—back in the 1800s, where people would put on blackface and do performances and so forth. Very negative depictions of Black people and so forth. And so that caricature became kind of the moniker that was used to talk about laws that were designed to prevent Blacks from voting in the Reconstruction era.
Todd Huff: So you had the Civil War. By the way, let’s go a little bit further back. Do you know the explicit reason why there is a Republican Party? Do you know what it is? The explicit reason stated in the charter—founded in 1854—it was founded in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The central purpose of that act was to oppose the expansion of slavery. So Republicans created a coalition of anti-slavery Whigs, Free Soilers, and abolitionists. Abolitionists—you know the abolitionists—I’m an abortion abolitionist today. There were abolitionists for slavery back in the day. That meant they wanted to completely wipe slavery out of existence.
Todd Huff: They wanted to get rid of it. Get it off the books. They found their home in the Republican Party. Not every Republican was an abolitionist, but every Republican was against the idea of slavery. They at least didn’t want it to spread into the free states. Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first Republican president in 1860. And what did Abraham Lincoln do? Emancipation. Emancipation Proclamation. Right? All the Civil War. All the things designed to finally, finally begin the process of living up to the ideal set forth in our Declaration of Independence—that all men are created equal. Amen. Everyone. We didn’t live up to that ideal with slavery, but we fixed the problem. And the driving force behind it was the Republican Party. Dare I say the driving force behind that were born-again believers in Jesus. They were a huge part of that.
Todd Huff: They understood these people—these Republicans—understood that we were all created in the image of Almighty God. And they took—listen, for those who say, “Oh, keep your faith out of politics,” if it wasn’t for people willing to live out their faith in the public square and through the political process, I’m not saying forcing people to accept their religion, I’m saying to stand up for what is morally right because of the convictions that they have from Almighty God himself. So anyway, that’s the background here, right? So you have a party that was created explicitly to bring an end to slavery. Think about that. To put an end to it, or at least to keep it from spreading. Some people wanted to get rid of it entirely. They called the Republican Party their home.
Todd Huff: And so that party had to rise up and defeat the party—the Democrat Party, by the way—the Democrat Party that had allowed, that had created the laws, that had created the environment for slavery to exist and to thrive. That’s the background. And we’re getting lectured by some leftist Democrat today. He’s up there telling us that we Republicans are the party of Jim Crow and racism. It’s just factually not true. It’s factually not true at all. Listen, hear me say this. I’m going to make a clear statement. The left won’t say this about me, but I will be fair.
Todd Huff: Being a Democrat doesn’t make you racist. But there absolutely is racism in the Democrat Party. There absolutely is racism across every political party, faction, religious group. It’s sad to say, but it’s true, my friends. But the party itself—the Republican Party itself—is not racist. And it’s amazing what they’ve gotten away with. I mean, when they have their private parties and their sessions where Bill Clinton is being painted in a dress or whatever they’re doing over there, when those things are happening, they’ve got to just laugh it up.
Todd Huff: They’ve got to laugh it up at how stupid the people are who are voting for them in many cases, who buy this garbage and nonsense. It is unbelievable. They get to sit there and say, “We’ve convinced a large section of the country—Democrats—that the party that ended slavery is the racist party.” And the party that was presiding over it, and that was standing in the way of it, and that was actually pushing these Jim Crow laws—which I’m going to talk about here—in the wake of the Civil War, during the Reconstruction period, rebuilding this nation after we had to put the pieces back together from the Civil War.
Todd Huff: And put this country on track to—well, to actually fulfill its ideals that all men are created equal. So Jim Crow laws—these were passed in the wake of the Civil War during Reconstruction by the people that didn’t really like the idea that slavery didn’t exist anymore. And so they wanted to try to put obstacles in the way of Black Americans really being able to have full participation in this country. These were passed and supported—hear me say this—they were passed by Democrats. And now we’ve got a guy up here lecturing us about how terrible we are for wanting to re-implement Jim Crow laws, which the analogy falls apart if you literally dig one one-millionth of a millimeter deep into his ridiculously stupid argument.
Todd Huff: But here’s what it—here’s what it looks like. Some of the examples of Jim Crow laws. Poll taxes. So think about going to the polls, voting at the voting booth and so forth. They instituted a requirement of payment before voting. These are examples of Jim Crow laws. These poll taxes effectively excluded poor voters. And because Black Americans had not had a chance to build any wealth because they had been living under slavery, Black Americans were disproportionately impacted by this. This was ended by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment and, of course, later court rulings and so forth. There were literacy tests that were required in order to vote. This required voters to read or interpret legal text. This was administered very subjectively. White voters sometimes were given an automatic pass. Black voters sometimes were failed even if they had the answers. This was a form of discretionary exclusion, again used by—hear me say this—white supremacist Democrats to keep Black Americans from voting.
Todd Huff: You may have heard the term “grandfathered in.” If you use the word “grandfather clause” or your grandfather did and they tell you that that’s inherently racist, that’s ridiculous. But it does—the term has its roots in something that’s racist. The term itself is not racist. The term was used to describe a racist behavior. So here it is, another example of a Jim Crow law: this grandfather clause that exempted voters from these tests, these poll taxes, if their grandfather was eligible to vote before a certain date. Now, that may sound a little bit like, huh, or what’s the big deal? Well, nobody’s grandfather could vote if they were Black before a certain date. So this only applied to people whose race allowed them to vote way back in history, back prior to the Civil War.
Todd Huff: Everything that happened in the wake of that, during Reconstruction—since enslaved people could not vote—these exemptions were applied almost exclusively to white voters. White Democrats, may I add. Friends, think about this. Investments are like seeds that we plant, that grow, that multiply. But are they bearing the kind of fruit that you want? At 4:8 Financial, they believe your money should reflect your values. They specialize in wealth management and biblically responsible investing, screening out companies that do not align with your faith. It’s all about having what they call a purpose-centered financial planning strategy, helping you live a life of meaning and purpose. You want to see if your investments align with your values or to what degree they do. All you have to do is head on over and take a quick, simple, easy assessment at 48financial.com/todd. That’s 48financial.com/todd. 4:8 Financial. They’re here to worry about your money so you don’t have to. I’m here right now, my friends, to help make sense of all this. But I’ve got to take a break. Quick time out. Back in just a minute.
Todd Huff: Welcome back, my friends. Going through—since Chuck Schumer wants to bring up, well, compare the SAVE Act, which is unbelievable—he wants to compare the SAVE Act to Jim Crow laws. I’m going through actual Jim Crow laws. People use the term a lot. In fact, I defy you—if you’re a leftist out there, if you’re someone who’s been effectively had the sense educated out of you by these lunatics running our universities today. If you’re someone who believes that these laws, that the SAVE Act is akin to Jim Crow, I welcome you. You have a green light to let me know how. In fact, I would love that. No one will come on here. No one will come on here and have these discussions with me, because they know it’s ridiculous or they’re just terrified of truth or something. I’ll be very nice to you, but I’m not going to put up with the nonsense. Tell me how requiring people to prove they’re a citizen prior to registering to vote—tell me how that is anywhere near what’s going on here with Jim Crow laws.
Todd Huff: I’ve got others as well. Here’s other examples of Jim Crow laws. White primaries. Political parties barred Black voters from participating in primaries. I’ll let you guess which party took advantage of that. In certain one-party Southern states, that primary was how elections were decided. It’s like whoever won and the other party wasn’t going to win anyway. So they kept people who were not white out of the primary process. And the primary process was really the main election because the opposing party didn’t have enough support to win. So that’s effectively excluding people politically from the process, silencing them. Does that sound like—by the way—who are the only people that the SAVE Act again requires that you provide documentation in order to register to vote, to prove that you’re a citizen?
Todd Huff: We’ve all gone through this. I’m going through this right now. I told you this the other day with getting the smart ID—what’s it called? Real ID. I call it smart ID. I think it’s stupid ID. But you go through this, and it’s taken me forever. Now, I will admit it’s because I needed to get a new Social Security card. Whatever. But it’s just crazy to me. I have a driver’s license. I could get a Social Security card with my driver’s license, but my driver’s license wasn’t good enough to get me a Real ID. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. But I have had problems with this. I don’t think that this stuff is silly, over the top, what we’re trying to do here—whatever. Maybe not. Maybe I’m wrong on that.
Todd Huff: But I will tell you this. I’ve never once thought that I am being discriminated against because of some made-up idea that I have. It’s just the process. And government is—government is a pain in the backside sometimes. And the things you have to do—listen, as a business owner, you know if you’re a business owner some of the things you’ve had to deal with, some of the things you didn’t know, some of the filings you missed or didn’t do something right with the state. Or just a bazillion possibilities here. You know what I mean? And so you’ve got to accept some of that because it’s just the nature of government. And it’s not all designed—I mean, there’s a reason for this.
Todd Huff: There’s a reason for this. We don’t want people voting in elections who shouldn’t be voting. What is so hard to understand about that? Listen, if you don’t understand that, may I suggest something—you don’t want to understand it. Because I think I could explain this to my kids. I used to use my kids as an example and say my five-year-old or seven-year-old understands this. They’re a little bit older now. Our youngest is twelve, so I can’t really say that because they certainly would understand this. But much younger than them is the point.
Todd Huff: It’s not as impactful if I say my twelve-year-old understands it. But I tell you what, there are five-year-old kids that would understand this no problem. Now, that makes sense. That makes sense. I remember when our son was younger. We were watching—the news was on in the background. I wasn’t even really paying attention, or he was busy drawing. I didn’t know he was paying attention. And they were talking about gun violence. I don’t know, just a news report. And someone made the comment that guns are responsible for killing people. And he looked up from his drawing or whatever and said, “Dad, that’s not true.” And I didn’t even know he was listening. I said, “What do you mean?”
Todd Huff: He said, “Guns don’t kill people. It’s the people that have the gun that kills the people.” I said, “Congratulations, son. You just surpassed the cumulative intelligence of half of the country.” But the bottom line here is, my friends, that this is not complicated. We want to maintain the integrity of our elections. And if states are giving driver’s licenses, and you’re getting federal subsidized housing, and you have an address and a driver’s license, and you can go and register to vote. And all you have to do is check a box that says you’re eligible to vote and that you’re a U.S. citizen—well, I mean, if I have to explain how that is a problem, I don’t know what else to do here.
Todd Huff: I would begin to say, if that doesn’t raise all sorts of alarm bells for you, I would dare say—respectfully—you might be part of the problem. There’s other laws here. Jim Crow laws. Segregation statutes. Remember, there were laws in this country before the Civil Rights Act that required separate schools, separate transportation, separate housing, separate public facilities between whites and Blacks.This is where the whole “separate but equal” concept became the catchphrase of the day. Listen, the way that this was enforced, it was enforced in a discretionary way, often using intimidation and threats. The racism in this country ran deep. Ran super deep.
Todd Huff: And so who supported those things? Well, my friends, Jim Crow laws were supported by Southern state and local governments. Those legislatures—listen to me now—those legislatures were dominated, not just by minor majorities, they were dominated by Democrats during this era. They maintained one-party control through this entire process. They oppressed. The laws they passed, the things they allowed to happen, oppressed Black Americans. They opposed civil rights organizations. They opposed abolitionists and the civil rights movement. In fact, if you look at the Civil Rights Act of 1964—if you look at the 130 votes that were cast against the Civil Rights Act—96 of those were Democrats, 34 Republicans. Now, there were more Democrats, but even proportionately, Republicans were in favor of passing the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. When those two things passed, Democrats had a much higher percentage against them. Democrats opposed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. And again, there are problems—I don’t want to get into the weeds—not saying there are universally good things and that there are no problems with the Voting Rights Act. We know some of the Voting Rights Act is being challenged now, part of it, in the Supreme Court. But the bottom line here is that these things were supported—these were Democrat laws.
Todd Huff: That Chuck Schumer is out here complaining about, and he’s comparing—he is comparing—requiring someone to show documentation on the front end when they register to vote, documents to prove that they are American citizens. Which is the only group that’s supposed to be voting in elections. He says that’s the same as a poll tax. He says that’s the same as a literacy test. He says that’s the same as these grandfather clauses. He says that’s the same thing as having white primaries. That’s what he’s saying. I’m not saying this. These are his words. He’s not going to list it example by example because he knows how ridiculous that sounds. But what he will refer to is the name of the group—the Jim Crow laws.
Todd Huff: He won’t list them because he knows it’s utterly ridiculous to compare any of these things. I would—where’s journalism today? Why doesn’t the journalist say, “Which Jim Crow law would you relate this to?” “Do you think it’s like having all-white primaries that barred Black voters? Is that what you’re saying?” “What are you saying here? Is it like segregation?” “Is it like requiring Black Americans to pay a poll tax?” By the way, I’ll talk about this in the next segment—Indiana, you can get a free voter ID, which I think is the path that the feds should take here. Anyway, none of this makes any sense because it’s senseless. These are obstructionists who want to ensure that they don’t lose their voting base, which in part are people who shouldn’t be voting. Friends, if you’re dealing with discomfort, if you’re tired of living off prescription medications, managing the side effects, you’re not alone. A lot of people are looking for something natural they can trust. That’s why I want you to check out Christopher’s Organic Botanicals.
Todd Huff: It’s a family-run natural kratom company rooted in truth, transparency, and tradition. They partner directly with farmers in Indonesia. They lab test everything before it reaches your hands. No hype, no synthetics—just the real deal done right. You can start with their kratom starter pack. Use coupon code ToddHuff and you’ll save 10%. You can do all this at christophersorganicbotanicals.com. Christopher’s Organic Botanicals dot com. Coupon code ToddHuff saves you 10% on your first purchase. Truth. Tradition. Transparency. Time out here, my friends. Back in a minute. Welcome back, my friends. I’ve got two things I need to do. One, I want to tell you about the voter ID law here in Indiana. Which is required photo ID since, I think, about twenty years or so.
Todd Huff: And then secondly, I want to talk to you about that. I mentioned there’s the SAVE Act and the Save America Act. The SAVE Act is just about providing documentation when you register. The Save America Act also includes the voter ID at the time of voting, at the polls. So that’s the two things I want to hit really quickly in the time that we have remaining, my friends. Maybe you’ve reached that stage, by the way, where managing your money feels like juggling more than just numbers. And you know that some families have navigated this very well. They have a plan that lasts for generations. They’ve navigated the growth. They’ve navigated the tax planning, estate work, the investment choices, all those things that come. And Full Suite Wealth helps people who want to make sure that their wealth makes a difference for years to come.
Todd Huff: They’ve navigated that storm, and they’ve created a plan that survives generation after generation. Full Suite Wealth brings together high-level investment strategies like private equity, private credit, option strategies, all coupled with expert legal guidance. Helping navigate these sometimes tumultuous and confusing waters. It’s all about making sure your vision becomes a reality for the people you love today and tomorrow. So if you’re looking to do more than just manage money, if you want to leave your mark, you want to build something lasting, take a look at Full Suite Wealth. Visit fullsuitewealth.com. That’s fullsuitewealth.com. Build your legacy. Secure your future. Okay, so two things. Number one, the law here in Indiana. Let me tell you really quickly. So to vote in person here in Indiana, you must have a photo ID. You’ve got to show the photo, right, when you go to check in at the polling place.
Todd Huff: It has to have your name—the voter’s name. It has to match what’s on the registration. It has to be issued by the state of Indiana or by the U.S. government. It has to be current or expired after the last general election. If you cannot—this is what’s important—if you cannot afford a voter ID, Indiana issues, hear me say this, free Indiana state ID cards for voting purposes. You can get these through the BMV, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. That’s where your driver’s license and all that stuff comes from. But this is specifically a voter ID designed so that the requirement does not function as a poll tax. That’s the idea. It says, look, fine, we don’t want to put a burden on people. We just want to make sure that they can vote. And so this is how you do that.
Todd Huff: So the Save America Act, which has been introduced, it’s been sponsored in the House by Chip Roy, I believe. And in the Senate, I think—Utah Senator Mike—drawing a complete blank. I’ll think of it in a minute. But this law, the Save America Act—not just the SAVE Act—it actually includes the photo ID requirement. So if they really want to get upset, if you really want to make a leftist mad, just say, “I’m not in favor of the SAVE Act. I’m in favor of the Save America Act.” Which adds to it the fact that you have to have a voter ID in order to vote, which makes sense. Again, who are the people that oppose this? Who are the people who stand against this? My friends, it’s absolutely unbelievable that we have a situation today where people are defending having just, I guess, chaos at the polls, at the voting booth.
Todd Huff: This is something, by the way, that in spite of all of this misunderstanding and manipulation and lies and deceit and gaslighting and everything else, this is something that the American people support. And that’s what—when I played the soundbite at the beginning, I played the soundbite at the beginning—he referenced the host when he questioned Chuck Schumer. Jonathan Lemire said 71% of Democratic voters support voter ID, 95% of Republicans. Chuck Schumer said, “Oh, it’s because they don’t understand how racist this is. This is Jim Crow 2.0.” Right? And when the American people understand how racist this is, they’re going to know—they’re going to be on our side with this.
Todd Huff: Well, that’s not the case. That’s not the case at all. Mike Lee—I don’t know why I couldn’t think of my—I’m a huge fan of Mike Lee’s, and I just could not—wasn’t planning to say his name, but anyway—he’s the one, I believe, who’s introduced this in the U.S. Senate. These are common-sense approaches. These are things that have to be done. And I’m going to tell you what, in the closing moments here, the left—the Democrat Party—between deportations and if these laws get passed, there’s a chance that their voting results are going to take it on the chin in November. And I hope so. Gotta go. SDG.
