House Democrats are blocking a bill requiring potential voters to prove their citizenship when registering.
Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the SAVE Act, is sponsored by Texas Republican representative Chip Roy who introduced the bill, and Mike Lee sponsored similar legislation in the Senate. It amends the National Voter Registration Act and would require a document proving citizenship mandatory.
Those who register to vote would need to prove they are citizens using a driver’s license or a passport. The bill would require the presentation of an ID before registration forms can be processed in local, state, and national elections. Other forms of ID are also accepted for those who don’t drive or travel out of the country.
House Democrat leaders are asking members to vote against the bill, alleging it would put “an extreme burden [on] countless Americans” to prove their citizenship.
In a whip question — a roundup of the coming week’s votes with instructions for how leadership wants rank-and-file members to vote — House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s, D-Mass., office told House Democrats they are “urged to VOTE NO” on the bill.
Republican House leadership, meanwhile, is urging the bill’s passage, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., posting on X that “the SAVE Act will safeguard our elections by ensuring only American citizens vote in federal elections.”
He released a 22-page report encouraging Republicans to vote for the bill. He said there is “irrefutable evidence that noncitizens have been illegally registering to vote and have illegally voted in U.S. elections.”
He added, “Lax voter registration laws make it possible for noncitizens to register and vote in federal elections while campaign finance loopholes allow noncitizens to fund U.S. election activities – both of which can affect the outcome of our elections.”
The bill comes as the immigration crisis continues mounting under the Biden administration, with at least 1.6 million migrants designated as “gotaways” alone between Fiscal Year 2021 to Fiscal Year 2023, Fox News reported. Gotaways are individuals who evade Border Patrol agents.
–Wire services