The U.S. House of Representatives will consider the SAVE Act this week; the bill would ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in U.S. elections.
There are two federal laws that govern election administration and voter registration—the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). While the law already requires that only citizens can vote, it does not provide a mechanism to ensure that only citizens register to vote. The SAVE ACT will change that by requiring that applicants for voter registration present documentary proof of citizenship before they are added to the voter rolls. What constitutes such proof? A birth certificate, naturalization paperwork, a passport, or some other document verifying their American citizenship.
This is a long overdue and commonsense reform. Any non-citizen voter registration is a fundamental violation of American sovereignty.
Opponents of this bill argue that it would be another mandate on state election officials who are already inundated with burdensome federal directives. The reality is that state election officials are essentially required to not check for documentary proof of citizenship. That’s because the NVRA requires that States “accept and use” the federal voter registration form that the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) creates.
In 2004, Arizona voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring that voters demonstrate proof of citizenship before being added to the voter rolls. In a country with porous borders, it would seem reasonable for a border state like Arizona to want to verify the citizenship of their voters. But the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that law, ruling that states could not add any other required information to the voter registration form because the NVRA doesn’t allow it.
HAVA also requires that any applicant for voter registration must register with their Social Security number or driver’s license number. While that should keep noncitizens from being registered to vote, 19 States and the District of Columbia give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. HAVA also requires states give voter registration applicants who do not have either identifying number a temporary identification number and add them to the voter rolls. This law does not define temporary, nor does it provide for that person to be removed from the voter rolls if they never provide this information.
Liberals say that this is not a real problem. But just last fall, deep blue Oregon found 1,260 non-citizens on their voter rolls that had to be removed. Alabama removed 3,251 non-citizens, and Texas and Virginia removed over 6,000 non-citizens each. The weakness in our electoral system is gaping and needs to be fixed. In a country whose system is based on the fundamental principle of “one man, one vote,” any non-citizen vote dilutes the vote of the American citizenry.
There is a massive left-wing attack on the American election system and non-citizen voting is a part of their strategy. Liberal elected officials weaken election security, loosen election laws and diminish standards. Their left-wing non-profit counterparts then take advantage of these vulnerabilities and collect voter registrations and harvest ballots to get more liberals elected.
The far-left in this country has a vested interest in allowing these loopholes to continue. When Virginia removed 6,000 non-citizens from its voter rolls last Fall, the Biden Justice Department immediately sued Virginia to try and keep these non-citizens from being removed.
Liberal opponents of this bill say that non-citizen voting is not a problem, but if it isn’t a problem then why are they opposed to strengthening the system? Opponents of this bill also say that it’s too much of a burden on election officials. But if it’s such a burden, why not loosen the NVRA and allow local and state election officials to maintain the integrity of our voter rolls without constant threats of lawsuits?
Congress must pass the SAVE Act to protect American sovereignty and safeguard our elections.