As congressional Democrats are preparing to fight legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, President Joe Biden came out against the bill on Monday, slamming the election security measure while also promising to “fight” for “secure elections.” The bill is up for a vote in the House on Wednesday.
Why would anyone who claims to want to “secure elections” oppose a bill that simply creates a mechanism to enforce existing prohibitions on alien voting? Given that Biden has let in almost as many illegal immigrants in less than four years as Ellis Island processed legally over 60 years, the bill protects against threats to our elections that Biden’s refusal to enforce America’s southern border has exacerbated.
Billionaire X owner Elon Musk suggested Sunday night that the only reason Democrats would oppose the bill is “because they want to cheat.”
The 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which enables driver’s license applicants to register to vote through state motor vehicle agencies, required would-be voters to attest to their citizenship status when registering to vote, but did not require any proof of such citizenship. The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act would amend the 1993 law by requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote.
Democrats claim the legislation is useless because it’s already illegal for foreign nationals to vote — or register to vote — in federal elections. But the only thing standing between a noncitizen and voting in a federal election is a small square box that individuals must check affirming they’re telling the truth about their citizenship status.
In other words, our elections hinge on the honor system.
Another issue with the 1993 law is that, as a spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told The Federalist, the department, as well as the state’s Medicaid agency, “is mandated to provide voter registration information under Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act,” as my colleague M.D. Kittle reported. The information is sent “to everyone applying for the benefits, including foreign nationals.” One refugee “reported receiving voter registration forms at the Health and Human Services office,” Kittle reported, citing a story told by state Rep. Adam Morgan. The refugee “sent the documents back to the agency” which then “sent the foreign national more voter registration information.”
The SAVE Act would catch any potential aliens registering to vote.
Democrats — or, as Musk described those who oppose the legislation, “traitors” — are “bringing out the big guns” to fight the legislation, Axios reported. House Minority Whip Katherine Clark told House Democrats to “VOTE NO” on the bill. Clark’s office reportedly said the legislation would “prevent Americans from registering to vote with their drivers’ license alone” and make a passport the “only acceptable standalone form of identification,” Axios reported.
Clark’s argument rests on the flawed assumption that driver’s licenses are a sufficient way to prevent ineligible individuals from registering to vote.
But many states offer driver’s licenses or privilege cards to legally present foreigners and even illegal aliens. What’s more, failing a driver’s license verification doesn’t stop a person from registering to vote.
Under the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), states must verify certain “information of newly registered voters for Federal elections,” according to the Social Security Administration. States must verify the applicant’s driver’s license number with the state’s Motor Vehicle Administration database. But if an individual lacks a driver’s license number, he can use the last four digits of his Social Security Number, name, and date of birth. As with driver’s licenses, verifying a registrant’s SSN does not necessarily confirm his citizenship since foreign nationals can also obtain those.
What about individuals who can’t provide a driver’s license number or an SSN? In California, for example, those who do not have a driver’s license or Social Security number can simply register to vote with their gym membership, among other insecure documentation options. The Federalist also reviewed public records from North Carolina that appear to show thousands of additional voters who were added to the rolls since January despite their records indicating no SSN or driver’s license identification number being provided.
The SAVE Act would solve these issues by requiring individuals to provide documentary proof of citizenship while registering to vote instead of relying on weak election laws that let thousands of voters slip through the cracks.
