North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer plans to introduce a bill that will oblige states that mandate vaccine passports to require voter identification at the polls. 

Cramer made the announcement on the heels of New York City becoming the first in the United States to require that visitors and residents show proof of coronavirus inoculation to enter indoor spaces including restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues.  

“If states that take federal money for elections feel the need to make residents verify a piece of information as private as their vaccination status just to return to normalcy, then they should have no problem requiring people to prove they are who they say they are when they go to vote,” the Republican Senator said in a statement.

Cramer plans to introduce the bill as both standalone legislation and an amendment to the left’s $3.5 trillion spending package. He said his bill “would ensure those states are being consistent about their identification requirements and shine a light on those who hypocritically oppose Voter ID laws but support vaccine passports.”

North Dakota is one of 20 states that has banned vaccine passports from going into effect within their borders, and to date no statewide vaccination requirements have been announced, but with New York City leading the charge, other Democrat-run cities and states are likely to follow. 

If U.S. governors do decide to embrace vaccine mandates, Cramer aims for “all States which require vaccine passports or other such documentation to also require voter identification at the voting polls.”

He wants the legislation in place in time for the 2022 midterm elections, noting that the Help America Vote Act of 2002 has provided millions of dollars every year so states will be able to fund election administration expenses.