(The Center Square) – A coalition of Republican attorneys general have called on the U.S. Senate to pass the SAVE Act, a bill that would ensure additional safeguards are in place to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
The coalition, led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Senate and to House Speaker Mike Johnson in support of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
The Republican-controlled House passed the bill filed by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, last week largely along party lines by a vote of 221-198.
The Biden administration opposes it, and Democratic leaders in Congress encouraged colleagues to vote against it, arguing it is a political ploy, The Center Square reported.
The bill was filed after several local Democratic-run jurisdictions nationwide have announced efforts to register noncitizens to vote, and some like the District of Columbia passed measures to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, filed a bill more than once to block the district’s measure, which Democrats overwhelmingly opposed, The Center Square reported.
President Joe Biden’s “open border” polices threaten the security of U.S. elections, the AG coalition argues. As millions of illegal foreign nationals were released into the U.S. through Biden administration policies, cities and states nationwide “started allowing noncitizens to vote in their [local] elections,” the coalition said. While these policies are “bad enough,” they argue, some states “have taken an even odder approach,” citing an Arizona policy.
“Arizona’s Secretary of State explains that voters who register to vote without proof of citizenship will be designated ‘federal-only’ voters, meaning they are allowed to vote in federal, but not state or local, elections.”
Two of the AGs signing the letter previously served as their state’s secretary of state and state’s chief election officers and “recognize the necessity of such a measure to secure our elections,” they said.
“The SAVE Act protects our elections from illegal immigrants and upholds the rule of law,” they argue. “Under the SAVE Act, individuals must provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The SAVE Act also will help States identify and remove illegal immigrants from their voter registration rolls by providing States with access to federal databases. Those simple, common-sense reforms will protect our elections. Americans deserve to have confidence in the security of our elections.”
Attorneys general joining Bird represent the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent his own letter, saying, “Although federal law prohibits those who are not U.S. citizens from voting in federal elections, it also paradoxically prohibits States from requiring voters to have proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. Under any circumstances, this federal prohibition against citizenship verification makes little sense, but it is especially troubling given the current scale of the illegal immigration crisis. Congress needs to correct this statutory defect by allowing states to ensure that votes are being cast legally by eligible voters.”
Paxton also explains the dilemma created by Arizona, which implemented a bifurcated voting system. “In the 2020 election, over 11,600 Arizona voters participated only in the federal election because they had not provided proof of citizenship, despite the fact that federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections,” he said. “That means that 11,600 voters voted in the previous presidential election without ever providing proof that they were citizens – in a state that President Biden won by 10,457 votes out of over 3.3 million votes cast. The SAVE Act would fix this problem, assure integrity in our democratic process, and make elections more secure.”
The bill is unlikely to even be considered for a vote in the Democratic controlled Senate.
Roy argues the bill “would thwart Democrat efforts to cement one-party rule by upholding and strengthening current law that permits only U.S. citizens to vote in Federal elections.”
Democrats oppose it “because they WANT non-citizens, including illegals, to vote,” he said.