OPINION:
Public confidence that our elections are free and fair is vital to the integrity of our democracy. The last several election cycles have given rise to claims of election fraud, leading segments of our electorate to question the legitimacy of each of our two most recent presidents.
At the top of the list driving that concern right now is that no mechanism exists to prevent noncitizens, including millions of illegal aliens, from registering to vote. On July 10, the House of Representatives sought to address this issue by passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, requires states to obtain proof of citizenship when registering people to vote in federal elections. It also requires states to remove noncitizens, including illegal aliens, from voter rolls. While opponents of the legislation assert that it amounts to a solution in search of a problem, it is a commonsense effort to avert a potential crisis in our divided nation, where one side or the other refuses to accept the outcome of an election.
No one knows how many noncitizens may be on our voter rolls because there has never been a concerted effort to make that determination, especially in states and jurisdictions that have granted them the right to vote in local elections. Even critics of measures such as the SAVE Act concede that. In recent years, states such as Georgia, Ohio and Virginia have documented instances of noncitizens who were registered to vote.
Adding to potential noncitizen voting is the volume of people who have entered the country illegally since President Biden took office. At least 16.8 million aliens are here illegally, and since January 2021, more than 10 million illegal aliens have been encountered by Customs and Border Protection. The administration has also abused our immigration laws to allow millions of otherwise inadmissible aliens into the country, releasing them on “parole” or granting them other relief, such as temporary protected status, allowing them to remain in the U.S.
The chances of noncitizens being on voter rolls are increased by a federal law that allows anyone applying for a driver’s license to simultaneously register to vote. That may seem like a good idea in theory, but it has real-life consequences for nationwide voter registries.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, and legal aliens are eligible for driver’s licenses in all 50 states. Yet under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the “motor voter” law, state motor vehicle departments are required to offer applicants the opportunity to register to vote. Applicants are required to check a box affirming that they are eligible, but no proof is required to demonstrate eligibility. Recent arrivals who are unfamiliar with U.S. laws may not even be aware that they are registering to vote, and county registrars might not even check whether the applicant is a citizen.
Given the growing potential for noncitizen voting, the SAVE Act takes prudent steps to prevent it. The bill requires state election officials to verify a registrant’s citizenship using documents such as a U.S. passport, a birth certificate or a Real ID-compliant form of identification.
Second, the bill requires states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. To assist states in doing so, the SAVE Act provides for states to use federal databases to verify citizenship, including the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database and the Social Security Administration’s Social Security Number Verification Service. Finally, the legislation creates a private right of action for citizens to bring lawsuits against election officials who fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements.
Recognizing the importance of safeguarding the electoral process before a dangerous crisis of confidence occurs, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the SAVE Act “one of the most important votes that members of this chamber will ever take in their entire careers.” The issue is one of self-determination, the Louisiana Republican declared. “Should Americans and Americans alone determine the outcome of American elections? Or should we allow foreigners and illegal aliens to decide who sits in the White House and in the People’s House and in the Senate?”
It is time for the speaker to back up those words with action. On Friday, he took the first step by ensuring that the SAVE Act was included in the House version of the continuing resolution that must pass to keep the federal government funded before the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. That was the easy part in the Republican-controlled House. It will be a bigger challenge to ensure that it is included in the final version of the short-term funding extension and to withstand the efforts of the Senate to remove it.
In the two years that Republicans have held control of the House, both Mr. Johnson and his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, have repeatedly failed to leverage continuing resolutions to force the Senate to take action on meaningful immigration legislation. Since Mr. Johnson has designated the SAVE Act as must-pass legislation, it is imperative that he follow through and use this last opportunity to do just that.
Nothing less than the integrity of our democratic process is on the line.
• Dan Stein is president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
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