Most countries allow only their own citizens to vote in national elections and require voters to prove their eligibility to vote through photo identification when they register and before they cast their vote. Here in the U.S., verifying eligibility and registering voters is left to the states. You would hope that the federal government would want to assist the states, especially when it comes preventing foreign interference, and that election integrity would be a bipartisan issue.
You’d think that a bill requiring U.S. states to obtain proof of citizenship before registering voters would have wide support. Such a proposal, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act (H.R. 8281), passed the House of Representatives Wednesday—but with only five Democrat votes. And the Biden administration “strongly opposes” it.
Why?
The White House statement is correct that “it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections” and that “making a false claim of citizenship or unlawfully voting in an election is punishable by removal from the United States and a permanent bar to admission.”
But that’s where truth ends and spin begins.
First, no state requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, and they vary on what documents are required to vote in person.
Second, all 50 states allow noncitizens who are in the U.S. legally to get a driver’s license, and in 19 states, illegal aliens can get one, too. The problem is, in many states, those who apply for welfare benefits or driver’s licenses are automatically given voter registration forms. That’s a risky combination that invites millions of noncitizens to register to vote, leaving it up to their honesty to opt out. We know that some do register, despite it being illegal.
In Arizona, one county told voters that even if their proof of citizenship could not be confirmed to register them for state elections, they would still be sent a ballot for federal elections! It’s hard to see how the U.S. Justice Department or local prosecutors........