WASHINGTON – Ahead of today’s vote on the House Floor, Majority Whip Tom Emmer announced key stakeholder support for H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21). The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship for voter registration and the removal of non-citizens from voter rolls.
Here is what stakeholders are saying in response to the SAVE Act:
Advancing American Freedom, Paul Teller, Executive Director: “Only Americans should vote in American elections. Our laws should ensure this and strengthen safeguards protecting our elections. Advancing American Freedom enthusiastically supports the SAVE Act as a strong first step in ensuring the integrity of American elections in the face of the Biden Administration’s mockery of our Southern border.”
Aiken County Election Integrity, Margie Shelps, Chairman: “Support for the SAVE Act is more important now than ever in our history. A record number of illegal aliens are crossing our border with an expectation to “vote for Joe Biden. In the November election, South Carolina voters will vote for an amendment to our state constitution that states ‘ONLY’ US Citizens can register to vote, but the Federal laws make this difficult to enforce.”
America First Policy Institute, Hon. Ken Blackwell, Chair of AFPI’s Center for Election Integrity: “Speaker Johnson and Congressman Roy are spot on: noncitizen voting in American elections is not acceptable. To be an American citizen is to have the right to a voice to help determine who represents you in government and who will stand for your ideas, values, and freedom. As an American citizen, casting a ballot is a civic duty, a unique privilege, and a fundamental right. And that right, which men and women have died on foreign battlefields to protect, is discarded when illegals are allowed to vote.”
America First Works, Ashley Hayek, Executive Director: “Millions of illegal immigrants are flooding our borders, jeopardizing American lives and the sanctity of their vote. To protect our elections, we must pass the SAVE Act. If the Left truly cares about democracy, they’ll support this bill and ensure that no non-citizen votes are illegally counted.”
Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) Action, Andy Mangione, Senior Vice President: “Our elections should only be reserved for US citizens which is why AMAC Action proudly joins other Only Citizens Vote coalition members in supporting the vitally important SAVE Act. AMAC members recognize the very real threat noncitizen voting poses to election integrity and demonstrated this concern recently by making over 19,000 contacts with their US House members urging them to support this critical legislation.”
Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), Star Parker, President: “We believe that protecting the integrity of America’s electoral system is critical to ensuring the freedom and dignity of all Americans, including those in our most distressed communities. Therefore, we are pleased to express our support for H.R. 8281, Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.”
Club for Growth – Key Vote YES: “A foundational principle of our republic is that only American citizens should decide who leads the American government. No one in their right mind would outsource policy decisions that affect daily lives of the American people to foreign leaders or citizens. Unfortunately, this basic common-sense principle is being undermined through existing federal law, which makes it illegal to require individuals to prove citizenship when registering to vote under existing Supreme Court precedent. The SAVE Act would fix this by amending the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by requiring those registering to vote to prove that they are citizens of the United States, among other common sense provisions.”
Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC): “THIS WEEK: The U.S. House is scheduled to vote on HR 8281 – SAVE Act – @CPAC Supports ✅ The SAVE Act prevents noncitizens from voting in federal elections by requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Thank you to @ChipRoyTX (CPAC Lifetime 98%) and @BasedMikeLee (CPAC Lifetime 99%) for sponsoring the SAVE Act.”
Eagle Forum, Kris Ullman, President – Key Vote YES: “On behalf of Eagle Forum and the thousands of families we represent throughout the country, we urge you to vote YES on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility “SAVE” Act (H.R. 8281)… The SAVE Act is a common sense bill that would preserve election integrity for years to come.”
Election Integrity Network, Kerri (Houston) Toloczko, Executive Director: “No greater honor or responsibility is afforded a citizen than the right to vote. For Black Americans and women, that right was not easily won. Today’s naturalized citizens earn the right lawfully through years of waiting and a high financial burden. For citizen voters to have their political voice stolen by foreign nationals with no legal right to vote dishonors and disrespects those who struggled fiercely for the honor of casting a ballot.”
Election Integrity Network, Cleta Mitchell, Founder, and Only Citizens Vote Coalition, Co-Founder: “The SAVE Act is necessary to fix the problems in the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which requires states to accept and use the federal voter registration form. The Supreme Court ruled a decade ago that unless Congress changes the NVRA, states may not require documentary proof of citizenship to verify the citizenship question on the federal form. The SAVE Act does that, to keep noncitizens from registering to vote. The SAVE Act also requires states to confirm the citizenship status of those already on the voter rolls. Congress must pass the SAVE Act to keep noncitizens from registering – and voting – in our elections.”
Election Integrity Network Action, Lynn Taylor, President: “Only Italians vote in Italy. Only Canadians vote in Canada. Only Americans should vote in America. It is up to the citizens of every country to chart the course for their own nation. The SAVE Act will ensure that only U.S. citizen voters make the decisions that choose America’s leaders, policies and future.”
Election Transparency Initiative, Ken Cuccinelli, National Chairman: “We thank Speaker Johnson, Rep. Roy, Sen. Lee and our coalition partners for protecting the integrity of our elections and the solemn right of American citizens to vote. Yes, foreign citizens are registering to vote in U.S. elections, and no, the current ‘honor system’ whereby non-citizens need only check a box promising they are citizens doesn’t cut it. Proof of citizenship to vote is obviously common sense, but if you want non-citizens and illegal aliens to land on the voter rolls you obviously oppose it.”
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) – Key Vote YES: “Only American citizens should have a say in American elections. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act will ensure exactly that by: (1) requiring voters prove citizenship before voting in federal elections, and (2) requiring states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. With the historic wave of illegal immigration currently unfolding, failing to pass the SAVE Act threatens to empower noncitizens, including illegal aliens, and dilute the votes of American citizens. Americans across the country support this bill because they want to know the Biden border crisis will not undermine the integrity of our elections, leading to disastrous long-term consequences. FAIR is proud to support it too.”
Florida Secretary of State, Cord Byrd: “A state cannot verify the citizenship status of persons in the United States without the assistance and cooperation of the federal government. Indeed, the federal government is the only source of accurate, up-to-date information on the citizenship status of such persons.”
Heritage Action, Ryan Walker, Executive Director – Key Vote YES: “Without the SAVE Act, states will continue to provide aliens with IDs, automatically register voters with no proof of citizenship, and hold elections with zero identification requirements. This gap in election law should be fixed before Americans head to the ballot box in November. Heritage Action thanks Rep. Roy and Sen. Lee for leading this fight and urges every lawmaker to vote for the SAVE Act.”
Independent Women’s Voice, Meaghan Mobbs, Director, Center for American Safety and Security: “On behalf of Independent Women’s Voice, which fights to enhance people’s freedom, opportunities, and well-being, I strongly endorse the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (H.R. 8281), introduced by Representative Chip Roy… In light of the overwhelming challenges posed by an open border and the imperative to safeguard our citizens’ right to vote, we believe that H.R. 8281 is a vital step towards ensuring the integrity of our democratic processes.”
National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE), RJ Hauman, President, and Heritage Foundation visiting fellow: “After spending the last three years flooding our country with millions of illegal aliens, the White House has announced that President Biden strongly opposes the commonsense SAVE Act, which seeks to prevent noncitizens from voting. There is no hiding it now. Biden and House Democrats want illegal aliens to vote in November. Not only out of desperation, but part of their ongoing effort to erase any distinction between American citizens and noncitizens. Our fight against this is just beginning.”
State Freedom Caucus Network, Andrew Roth, President: “Our states are straining under the load of an illegal alien surge over the past three and half years. Congress must pass the SAVE Act and give states the necessary tools to prevent these noncitizens from voting in our elections. Passing the SAVE Act is an important step to protecting the rights of American citizens to elect their governments, not foreign nationals.”
Tea Party Patriots Action, Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman: “Tea Party Patriots Action strongly supports the SAVE Act because it would bolster the integrity of our country’s federal elections by closing the loopholes that allow noncitizens to register and vote. This legislation would represent a step forward in upholding the sanctity of our democratic process and ensuring that every vote cast in our federal elections is done so only by American citizens.”
Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton: “The White House has formally announced that Biden will veto the Republican bill that seeks to prevent noncitizens from voting. There is no hiding it now. Biden and the Democrats want illegal immigrants to vote in the election this November. Our elections are NOT safe from mass interference as long as states do not require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.”
The Heritage Foundation, Mike Howell, Executive Director, The Oversight Project: “The Oversight Project has proven the threat non-citizens pose to the integrity of our elections. We’ve uncovered illegal aliens obtaining fraudulent residency documents, being provided partisan literature encouraging them to vote for President Biden, and even non-citizens admitting to being registered to vote. What the left has called a conspiracy theory we have instead proven to be one of the biggest threats to free and fair elections.”
Comprehensive list of stakeholders supporting H.R. 8281:
Advancing American Freedoms; Advancing Integrity; Aiken County Election Integrity; ALEC Action; AMAC Action; America First Policy Institute; America First Works; American Family Association; Americans for Limited Government; Americans Winning Elections; CatholicVote; Center for Military Readiness; Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE); Citizen Outreach; Citizens for New Jersey Election Integrity; Citizens for Renewing America; Citizens United; Club for Growth – Key Vote; Colorado Institute for Fair Elections; ConservativeHQ.com; CPAC; Eagle Forum – Key Vote; Election Integrity Network; Election Integrity Network – New Mexico; Election Oversight Group, LLC; Election Research Institute; Election Transparency Initiative; FAIR Elections Fund; Fairfax GOP Election Integrity Team; Federation for American Immigration Reform; Florida Fair Elections Coalition; Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd; Foundation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) – Key Vote; Gold Institute for International Strategy; Greater Texas Vote; Gun Owners of America; Heritage Action – Key Vote; Honest Elections Project Action; Illinois Conservative Union; Illinois Election Integrity Program; Immigration Accountability Project; Independent Women’s Voice (IWV); Izon Education/Ranked Choice EDU; Liberty Alliance USA; Maryland Voter Integrity Group; Michigan Fair Elections; Middle Resolution Policy Foundation; My Faith Votes; National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE); Nevada Republican Club Action PAC; North Carolina Election Integrity Team (NCEIT); Ohio checkmyvote.org; Ohio Election Integrity Network; Only Citizens Vote Coalition; Opportunity Solutions Project; Pennsylvania Fair Elections; Physicians for Reform; Republican Club Sun City Anthem; Republic Women of SWFL Federation; Restore Minnesota/Restore Minnesota Action; Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE); RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity; Save Our States Action; Stand Up Michigan; State Freedom Caucus Network; Tea Party Patriots Action; Tennessee Fair Elections Coalition; Tennessee Stands; Texas Public Policy Foundation; The Heritage Foundation; The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Inc.; The Western Journal; Wisconsin Voter Alliance; Working Together for New Jersey Election Integrity.
Reposted with Permission from Majority Whip – By Tom Emmer
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.