The Pasta Pass Fight

An Olive Garden promotion is now doing double duty as a voter-ID talking point. The $100 Never-Ending Pasta Pass lasts 13 weeks, is personalized and non-transferable, and requires a photo ID with the pass. 1

Supporters see a simple analogy: if a private promotion verifies the named customer, elections can require identification too. Critics say the comparison breaks at the key point: a Pasta Pass is a purchase, while voting is a constitutional right; the pass check also does not establish citizenship or voting eligibility. 234

The comparison took off after White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson used it on July 17; Aaron Rupar’s X post carrying the clip has 589,709 views. By July 21, Speaker Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise were pressing the election-ID case while Rep. Maxine Dexter and Molly Jong-Fast pushed back on the analogy. 56789

One wrinkle got lost in the meme cycle: Olive Garden says the broader Never Ending Pasta Bowl is available to all guests without a Pasta Pass from August 31 through November 22. 10