Democrats Oppose SAVE Act, Which Requires Voters to Prove Citizenship

Opening remarks were delivered today at the House Rules Committee hearing on the SAVE Act bill. The bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act by requiring people to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections....

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Opening remarks were delivered today at the House Rules Committee hearing on the SAVE Act bill. The bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act by requiring people to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

The House of Representatives will vote as soon as Wednesday on the Act. If it passes, the bill will go to the Senate, where it will face tough opposition in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Background

As of this writing, no laws require applicants to provide proof of citizenship on federal voting registration forms. The National Voter Registration Act only requires applicants to check a box on the form indicating they are a U.S. citizen.

Last month, the New York Post discovered that welfare offices and other agencies, such as La Jornada, were providing migrants, including illegal migrants, voter registration forms without proof of citizenship.

On May 8, Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX-21, led 49 GOP Representatives in introducing the SAVE Act to combat non-citizen voter registrations. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Senate’s companion bill.

The SAVE Act

The SAVE Act requires people registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship. Forms of proof that will be accepted include a U.S. passport, photo ID issued with proof of citizenship, or a combination of documents such as a photo ID and birth certificate. The SAVE Act also provides states with access to federal databases and information to ensure citizenship for those lacking proper documentation.

States will be required to remove non-citizens from their official lists of voters and the Department of Homeland Security will be allowed to deport non-citizens who have illegally registered to vote. Election officials may also be sued if they wrongly register a voter without the required documentation.

America’s View

The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, which works in part to ensure election integrity, interviewed migrants on their citizenship and voter registration status. They found that a whopping 10 percent of illegal aliens were registered to vote. A video showing part of the interviews can be viewed on X.

“We now have so many non-citizens in the country that if only one out of 100 of those voted, they would cast hundreds of thousands of votes…It could obviously change the outcome of our elections, and this is not an empty threat or concern,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in a public statement.

A January study by McLaughlin and Associates found that 85.5 percent of respondents believe only American citizens should be able to vote in U.S. elections. The study also found that 83.4 percent believe that proof of citizenship should be required to vote in American elections.

White House Response

The Biden administration is staunchly against the SAVE Act, claiming that it is “extraordinarily rare” for people without citizenship to register to vote. (READ MORE: They’ll Try to Steal It. They Have To.)

In their statement yesterday, the administration claimed that because federal law already prohibits non-citizens from voting and makes it a crime punishable with jail time and fines, there is no need for the SAVE Act.

“By that logic, we don’t need to worry about border security because illegal immigration is already unlawful. The same reasoning would likewise suggest that background checks are unnecessary because the law already prohibits felons from possessing firearms,” Speaker Johnson wrote on X in response.

The House minority whip, Katherine Clark, also stated that it would be an “extreme burden for countless Americans” to present documents similar to those required to renew a driver’s license at the DMV to register to vote. She is also encouraging Democrats to vote “No” on the bill. 

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