Election Integrity: Preventing Noncitizen Voting

Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump recently announced an important election integrity effort from Mar-a-Lago related to noncitizen voters. The issue concerns the required registration of noncitizens as voters when they receive services from state departments of motor vehicles or state benefit offices. Although illegal aliens lying about their citizenship to vote in federal elections is illegal under Section 215 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, currently no documented proof of citizenship is required to verify citizenship status. Rather, all that is required is for an applicant to check a box verifying that they are a citizen of the United States. No voter ID, no proof of citizenship, just checking a checkbox makes them able to register to vote.

Furthermore, mail-in voter registration forms merely require the applicant to check a box verifying they are a citizen of the United States. There is no way for a state to question or verify this—it must be taken at face value. Voting is made available to everyone who swears they are eligible, even if they may not meet all necessary requirements. Unfortunately, states attempting to implement more rigid voter identification requirements have encountered trouble in the courts.

Of course, the corrupt news media quickly dismissed these concerns as “misinformation” and “conspiracy theories.” A slew of articles also rapidly appeared on the web to condemn and ridicule the voter integrity effort. Yet there are documented instances of illegal aliens voting in federal elections. Even if the issue were not widespread, American citizens should agree that one instance of voter fraud or one illegal vote is still one too many.

Yet the significant effort made by the media to push back against what is supposedly such a minimal problem seems incongruous. Even a brief examination of the facts begins to reveal there may be significantly more to the truth than the immediate judgments of mass media broadcasters who effectively shill for the Left.

Indeed, there is clear evidence of the ease with which noncitizens can register to vote in federal elections. The Washington Times released a story just this month profiling a Cuban noncitizen who registered, claimed to be a citizen, and voted in North Carolina on November 5, 2016. The poll worker used the illegal alien’s government-issued work permit for identification and then filled out his ballot because the voter could not read English. The voter also registered as a Democrat. Federal prosecutors in North Carolina have since brought charges against this man and 36 other noncitizens who voted in the 2016 election, indicating the problem may not be as minimal as suggested by the Left, which stands to benefit the most. Notably – and concerningly – the assistant U.S. attorney handling some of these cases told the judge that election officials often accepted noncitizen applications after it became clear they intended to vote for Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democrat presidential candidate.

Given the open southern border and historical illegal immigration numbers spurred on by the Biden Administration’s refusal to enforce our border security laws, there is good reason to be concerned that the noncitizen voting problem could worsen. Time and again, the concern about noncitizens voting in elections was dismissed because federal law explicitly bans foreign nationals and noncitizens from voting in federal elections. Yet countless stories like those identified by The Washington Times seem to indicate that noncitizen voting—either through incompetence, intentional disregard of the law, or both—has happened, and continues to happen, in the United States. Election integrity could be in more jeopardy than the fake news media is willing to concede.

So what will be done in response? Speaker Mike Johnson, Representative Chip Roy, and Senator Mike Lee have introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The SAVE Act will ensure that noncitizens do not vote in elections. If passed, the SAVE Act would require voters in every state to present documentary proof of United States citizenship with their voter application when they register. This would include vote-by-mail registration and registration that takes place at state departments of motor vehicles. Furthermore, states would have to take ongoing steps to ensure only United States citizens are registered to vote, potentially including the use of the Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration, or other state agency data confirming citizenship. States would also have to remove noncitizens from the list of eligible voters for elections upon receiving documentation verifying that a registrant is a noncitizen. Additionally, the bill would create a private right of action whereby any citizen can sue any election official who registers an applicant who has failed to present proof of citizenship during registration. Finally, registering an applicant who fails to provide proof of citizenship would be subject to a criminal penalty, including a fine, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

The ACLJ looks forward to supporting this and all election integrity efforts in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. You can rest assured that we will continue to engage with our partners in the House and Senate to ensure that only American citizens can vote in federal elections. We stand ready to help advance all necessary legislation to protect American citizens’ sacred right to vote.