Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Stephen A. Smith Spars With Caller Who Opposes Election Integrity Bill

Screenshot/YouTube/Stephen A. Smith

SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith clashed with a caller who opposed an election integrity bill during a Wednesday episode of “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.”

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. While the caller complained on the show about the process of getting documentation to prove citizenship to vote, Smith argued election integrity was a higher priority.

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“Right now it’s illegal to vote if you’re not a citizen. That is already true. And the fact that non-citizens actually having voted is vanishingly small —” the caller said before Smith cut her off.

“No matter how small it is, is it right for someone who is not here legally, who is not an American citizen, to be voting in our elections? Yes or no?” the host asked.

The caller agreed it was wrong for illegal immigrants to vote.

“If somebody is requiring that you show proof of United States citizenship, and you are in support of migrants who are here illegally not being able to vote, then what’s the problem?” Smith followed up.

The caller said implementing the law was problematic, asserting every American would need to re-register to vote in the next election. She claimed many Americans would find it difficult to provide their proof of citizenship before Smith interrupted her again.

Smith noted he had a passport and that he had to renew it when it expired, explaining that he would need to prove he was a citizen despite being American.

“[I]f we’re arguing that we shouldn’t have to go through the process of acquiring a REAL ID, that’s where I jump off the rails,” he said. “I got to go through it. Why shouldn’t somebody else?”

The caller argued that Americans re-registering to vote would overwhelm the system.

“There are people that are waiting five hours in line to get on a plane. They’re still at the airport buying plane tickets,” Smith retorted. “There are people that go to the supermarkets and have to wait in line, go to the department stores and have to wait in line, go to an event and have to wait in line, get stuck in the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Listen America’s got to stop being so damn spoiled.”

“[I]f you’re sitting here and telling because the process is so arduous and its such an inconvenience and that usurps the importance of identifying the folks who are legally and legitimized to be voters and differentiating them from migrants who are here illegally — Estelle, I can’t side with you on that,” he added.

The caller told Smith he was misrepresenting her argument and that her point was that there was not enough time or money to implement the bill before the 2026 midterm elections. Smith agreed, saying that “efficiency” was important.

However, the host reiterated his point that “inconvenience” was worthwhile to accomplish important goals.

President Donald Trump wrote in a Sunday Truth Social post that he would not sign any legislation until the passage of the SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration and mandate photo identification for federal elections, along with instructing states to verify citizenship and remove non-citizens from federal voter rolls.