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Stacey Abrams Says Nobody Has Ever Opposed ‘Having To Prove Who You Are To Vote’

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Former Georgia House minority leader Stacey Abrams said on CNN Thursday morning that she could support Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s voting bill despite the fact that it includes a requirement for voter ID.

Manchin, a centrist Democrat who had previously voiced opposition to the For The People Act, said that he would support a compromise that included making election day a public holiday, expanding early voting to at least 15 consecutive days, banned partisan gerrymandering, and required voter ID. (RELATED: ‘Jim Crow 2.0’: Critics Compare Georgia’s Voting Integrity Bill To Racial Segregation)

Abrams told CNN’s John Berman that she “absolutely” could support Manchin’s compromise, even though it includes a voter ID requirement.

“That’s one of the fallacies of Republican talking points that has been deeply disturbing,” Abrams said. “No one has ever objected to having to prove who you are to vote. It’s been part of our nation’s history since the inception of voting.”

Abrams said that the problem with voter ID is the restrictions on what type of ID can be used to vote. One example she gave was states where students were not allowed to use their school IDs but could use their gun licenses.

“What he is proposing makes sense,” she said. “Because it says, what we’ve had in this country for so many decades, which is that people can prove their identities in various ways but we should not narrow the playing field so much that we push voters out of participation simply because of restrictions that make no sense and do not increase security.”

Voter ID laws vary widely by state. The laws range from states where no documentation is required to vote to states that have strict ID requirements. The types of IDs that are allowed also vary by state – typically, a state will accept a valid driver’s license, tribal ID, military ID, passport, and other variations of an ID. Some states allow alternative forms of identification, like student IDs or utility bills, while others do not.