AMAC EXCLUSIVE
In a long-awaited move, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Texas Rep. Chip Roy, and Utah Senator Mike Lee earlier this week introduced a bill establishing crucial protections to guard against the threat of non-citizens voting in American elections. Amid the worst border crisis in the nation’s history, the legislation would fix glaring weaknesses in existing federal and state election laws.
The bill, entitled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, would institute new policies to better ensure that illegal aliens and other individuals who are ineligible to vote cannot register to vote or access the ballot box.
Specifically, the legislation amends the 1993 National Voter Registration Act to “require states to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity – in person – when registering an individual to vote in a federal election.” Under the current law, an individual merely has to sign a form claiming that they are a U.S. citizen who is eligible to vote with no verification. This system undermines state-level election security measures and creates ample opportunity for fraud.
The SAVE Act would also require states to take steps to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls, primarily by providing no-cost access to Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration databases. While federal agencies are currently allowed to provide such information to states, they are not compelled to do so – thereby giving the president the power to hamper state-level efforts to clean up their voter rolls.
If local election officials fail to uphold their sworn duty to enforce election laws and protect the integrity of the ballot box, the SAVE Act empowers citizens to bring civil suits against them. This provision installs a crucial check against the threat of partisan election officials allowing non-citizens to vote.
Importantly, state officials would be required to implement changes to comply with the SAVE Act within 10 days after the bill’s passage. This would ensure that these new provisions would be in place in time for November’s election.
While elected Democrats and the corporate media have insisted that non-citizens voting is just a right-wing fantasy, the reality is that the unprecedented surge of illegal aliens across the U.S.-Mexico border has seriously jeopardized the integrity of American elections. In April, photos surfaced on social media of flyers being distributed to U.S.-bound migrants in Mexico urging them to vote for Joe Biden – underscoring just how serious the threat is.
Although federal law does prohibit non-citizens from voting in federal elections, there are few mechanisms in place for actually identifying and punishing individuals who violate those laws.
To make matters worse, Biden has actively undermined the security of American elections under the guise of “equity” and “expanding access” to the ballot box. Under the provisions of a 2021 Biden Executive Order, for instance, U.S. Marshals are now required to provide everyone in their custody voter registration information – including illegal aliens.
Moreover, Democrat states and even some swing states have also removed barriers to illegals voting, highlighting the urgent need for federal action.
In addition to requiring no form of ID to register to vote, 14 states also don’t require a photo ID to actually cast a ballot. 28 states, including Michigan, Georgia, and North Carolina, allow voters to use a student ID – which does not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens. At least 19 other states and the District of Columbia have also passed bills allowing non-citizens to obtain driver’s licenses, which again do not say whether someone is a citizen or an eligible voter. Some cities, including Washington D.C., now even allow illegal aliens to vote in local elections.
During a press event on the steps of the Capitol introducing the SAVE Act, Johnson warned that “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… This is a dangerously high number, and it’s a great concern to millions and millions of Americans. It could obviously change the outcome of our elections, and this is not an empty threat or concern.”
Former Trump White House aide Stephen Miller, who currently leads the legal advocacy group America First Legal, also emphasized the importance of the bill and securing American elections.
“You are inviting grand foreign interference in our elections on an unprecedented scale for the sole purpose of helping Joe Biden and the Democrat Party,” Miller said. “When this bill comes to a vote, it will be the most important vote that most members of Congress take in their entire careers. If Hakeem Jeffries and his Democrat members try to kill this bill, they will be declaring to the whole country that they want Joe Biden’s illegals to vote in this election.”
Although Johnson has not committed to a specific timetable for bringing the bill to the floor for a vote, he has said it will be “soon.” With Election Day less than six months away, there is no time to waste.
Shane Harris is a writer and political consultant from Southwest Ohio. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
