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What Does The Bill Do?
We've looked at voting rights before, most recently last month when we looked at a bill to prohibit noncitizens from voting in Washington D.C. To continue the theme, this month's IssueVoter bill looks at the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections. The bill defines what constitutes acceptable documentary proof of citizenship, such as a REAL ID-compliant identification card, U.S. passport, or birth certificate. It requires states to implement a program to verify the citizenship status of individuals seeking to register to vote, and provides federal agencies with processes to assist states in confirming citizenship. The bill also imposes criminal penalties for election officials who register non-citizens to vote.
According to NCSL, thirty-six states have introduced voter ID laws which require or request voters to present ID at the polls, but what's different here is that the SAVE Act imposes a more stringent test at the point of registration as there are few forms of ID which also prove citizenship. Only about 48% of U.S. citizens have a passport, according to State Department data. And few people have a birth certificate handy. Driver’s licenses and tribal ID cards typically do not prove a person’s citizenship and probably couldn’t be used to register under the SAVE Act.
Read the IssueVoter analysis of the bill here.
Restoring Faith in U.S. Elections
As I noted in last month's post, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 makes it unlawful for noncitizens to vote in federal elections (including for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and presidential elections), and imposes a penalty of up to 1 year in prison for violators, and make them ineligible to receive visas, ineligible to be admitted to the U.S. and deportable. So why does the bill's sponsor, Rep. Chip Roy, feel the bill is necessary?
"Secure elections are a key cornerstone for any representative government; without them, we won't have a country. Radical progressive Democrats know this and are using open border policies while also attacking election integrity laws to fundamentally remake America . . . we must end the practice of non-citizens voting in our elections. “ said Roy.
Other Republicans also cited the problem of illegal immigrant voting to justify the new law. "Illegal immigrants and non-citizens across the nation are being improperly registered to vote, allowing them to cast illegitimate ballots in federal elections,”said Senator Mike Lee, who has companion legislation in the Senate.
An Attack on Voting Rights
Those opposing the bill aren't buying it. "Despite numerous recounts, challenges in court, and deep-dives by conservative think-tanks, there has been zero evidence of the widespread fraud that this bill purports to target." said House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark. In fact, according to The Associated Press, states such as North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, California, and Texas reviewed their voter rolls between 2016 and 2022. These audits found that fewer than 50 noncitizens in each state had voted in recent elections, out of upwards of 23 million total votes per state.
In a Statement of Administration Policy, the Executive Office of President Biden said, "This bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls. The evidence is clear that the current laws to prevent noncitizen voting are working as intended—it is extraordinarily rare for noncitizens to break the law by voting in Federal elections."
The experience of Texas illustrates potential pitfalls with attempting to verify citizenship. In 2019, the Secretary of State David Whitley flagged 95,000 registered voters as potential noncitizens and attempted to check their status. The efforts prompted multiple lawsuits and ended with his resignation after it emerged that tens of thousands of names on the list were legitimate citizens.
Will The Bill Pass?
Despite these issues, the SAVE Act passed out of the House on July 10 2024 by 221 votes to 198. Five Democrats joined all Republicans in supporting the legislation over the line. They were Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (Washington), Jared Golden (Maine), and Vicente Gonzalez (Texas). It is unlikely to progress further through the Democrat-controlled Senate, and President Biden has promised to veto the bill should it reach his desk.
It is, though, another indication of how the clash between election integrity and voting rights will continue to be a hot topic in this election year. Expect to see the SAVE Act in ads and other election messages in a state near you very soon, with Republicans claiming that Democrats opposing the bill want to allow illegal immigrants to vote and Democrats responding that the bill merely seeks to make it harder for legitimate voters to cast their ballot.
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IssueVoter is a nonpartisan, nonprofit online platform dedicated to giving everyone a voice in our democracy. As part of their service, they summarize important bills passing through Congress and set out the opinions for and against the legislation, helping us to better understand the issues. BillTrack50 is delighted to partner with IssueVoter and we link to their analysis from relevant bills. Look for the IssueVoter link at the top of the page:
