Defenders of Democracy Need to Pass the SAVE Act
So you don't think non-citizens could vote? Think again.
Republicans have proposed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act which the Democrats should support since they are very concerned with protecting democracy. But it doesn’t seem like they are getting behind it for some reason.
The legislation requires proof of citizenship to establish voting eligibility in federal elections. This shouldn’t be controversial since only citizens should vote. Democrats say it isn’t necessary because the federal code prohibits non-citizens from voting. The SAVE Act would be an amendment to a loophole in the 1993 Voter Registration Act, aka the “Motor Voter Act.”
The problem with the 1993 act is that it doesn’t require proof of citizenship to register to vote. It only requires people to fill out a form attesting they are U.S. citizens but doesn’t require documentation to be presented. America uses the honor system for people to fill out registrations to vote in presidential elections. The SAVE Act requires voters to prove their citizenship with a birth certificate or passport which makes elections and democracy more secure.
This shouldn’t be controversial since only citizens should vote.
A federal court ruled in 2020 that Kansas can’t require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Elon Musk drew attention to Arizona with proof that if you don’t show you are a citizen you only receive a federal election ballot. The Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., 570 U.S. 1 (2013) also upheld the Motor Voter law prohibiting asking for proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
A popular argument from the Left is that the SAVE Act isn’t necessary since non-citizens never vote. An investigation by Ohio's Public Integrity Division discovered 137 people on the voter rolls despite twice confirming they weren’t American citizens. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said it could have been an honest mistake after ordering voter rolls to be purged. These honest mistakes could be prevented by requiring proof of citizenship.
Virginia had the same issue in 2023 when the Department of Elections removed 1,481 registrations for “non-citizen status.” The Electoral Process Education Corporation (EPEC) identified voting records of over 800 ballots back to 2019 cast by voters in Virginia designated as “non-citizens” and they were removed from the voter rolls. It’s hard to say it’s an honest mistake if you registered AND voted when you shouldn’t have.
There don’t seem to be any consequences for these voters breaking the law. The Attorney General’s office in Virginia said there are no prosecution records for those individuals who unlawfully voted. It’s a class 6 felony in Virginia to vote if you aren’t supposed to and for anyone who “procures, assists, or induces another to vote knowing that such person is not qualified to vote.”
A popular argument from the Left is that the SAVE Act isn’t necessary since noncitizens never vote.
Pennsylvania has registered noncitizens to vote for over two decades at DMV offices through the Motor Voter Act claiming it was a “glitch” when they applied for or renewed their driver’s licenses. The Public Interest Legal Foundation has a lawsuit pending to expose how many non-citizens registered, efforts to remove them from the rolls, and voting histories. Pennsylvania refuses to turn over the data and the case has moved up to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
It’s not surprising that elected Republicans needed 31 years to figure this out since they are incapable of doing politics and winning winnable elections. It took them seven presidential elections to discover this problem. It’s more shocking conservative media didn’t pick up on this since they are better at politics and speaking for voters than their representatives.
If Democrats want to protect democracy they should pass this legislation right away. The election could come down to thin margins in a state like Pennsylvania. It doesn’t make sense for them not to pass it with this information about non-citizens registering to vote and voting in our elections if they want to safeguard democracy. They wouldn’t want their Biden votes canceled out by ineligible voters who go for Trump so it should be a top priority.