WATCH: House Democrat gets unexpected response when he asks constituents about voter ID requirements

By Fox News · Fox News

A Democratic lawmaker sparked an online firestorm after appearing to inadvertently make the case for stricter voter ID requirements while criticizing a Trump-backed election bill. Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., repeatedly said Monday that Democrats were not against voter identification at the ballot box as he discussed his opposition to the SAVE America Act at a town hall with constituents. The Alabama Democrat, however, appeared to imply that the town hall attendees might have a problem with it. "I’m of a different era, I’m of a different generation. I probably feel a little bit differently about it," Figures, 40, told a seemingly older crowd. "But watch this: how many people in here do not have an ID?" No one's hand went up. REPUBLICANS SHRED 'NONSENSE' DEM CLAIMS AGAINST TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL After a noticeable pause, Figures appeared to nod in agreement. "Everybody has an ID, right?" Figures said, adding that he believed "20, 30, 40 years ago, it was a lot different." A shortened clip of the exchange posted to social media sparked backlash among conservatives, who said the video proved that a majority of Americans would have no issue complying with photo ID requirements. "Democrat Rep. Figures' rhetoric on Voter ID absolutely backfires when every single person he's talking to has an ID," David McIntosh, president of the conservative Club for Growth, wrote on social media. "OOPS. Rep. Shomari Figures (D) just accidentally OBLITERATED his Party's own narrative that people don't have IDs to vote," the viral Libs of TikTok account added. Figures disputed that he expected someone in the audience not to have an ID, in a statement to Fox News Digital. "If you listen to the entire exchange, which they intentionally cut short, you will clearly see that I was making the point that these days everyone has an ID," Figures said, referring to viral clips of a shortened exchange that circulated on social media. "I asked the audience a rhetorical question: ‘How many people…