Senate Democrats vote against bill requiring photo ID to vote, ban members of Congress from individual stock trades

A day after Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced a vote on a bill that would have required photo ID to vote in federal elections and banned members of Congress from buying individual stocks while in office, Democrats voted in lock-step to block the bill. 

The bill needed 60 votes to pass and won 53 yea votes -- all from senate Republicans. The 47 Democrats in the senate all voted against the measure. In addition to requiring Americans to show photo ID when voting in federal elections, the bill, already passed in July by the House of Representatives, would have prohibited all members of Congress as well as close family members from buying and selling individual stocks while in office. 

"The Republican toothless stock-trading bill is as ineffective as a screen door on a submarine," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor, according to CBS News. "And let's be clear: they don't even want it to pass. They designed the bill to fail. All they really want is to score political points before they head home to campaign,” the New York Democrat said. 

“While the American people overwhelmingly support a photo ID requirement, for some bizarre reason, congressional Democrats have decided that photo ID for voting is a step too far,” Thune said Wednesday. 

Both provisions in the bill are overwhelmingly popular with the American public. Polls have consistently shown that a voter photo ID requirement is backed by about 80% of Americans. A ban on stock trading for members of Congress is even more popular, with one poll showing 86% support, The Washington Times reported. 

“Either Democrats are just reflexively opposing this proposal because it came from Republicans," Thune added, "or Democrats believe that there are, in fact, people out there voting illegally, and that it’s benefiting Democrats and they like to keep that going." Watch video of the moment below the bill was shut down after 47 nay votes from senate Democrats.