House Republicans and five Democrats passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Wednesday.
Alabama’s Republican delegation in Congress supported the measure, while U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) opposed it.
This legislation amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of United States citizenship to register an individual to vote in elections for federal office.
"It's common sense that only Americans should vote in American elections, but Democrats want non-citizens to vote because they know most Americans don't support their radical agenda," U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) said. "We cannot allow the Left to manipulate our elections and benefit from the border crisis they have created at the expense of American families."
The bill also requires states to establish a program to remove non-citizens from their existing voter rolls and gives states no-cost access to Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration databases to do so.
“The Biden administration and Congressional Democrats have allowed millions of illegal immigrants to infiltrate our nation, hereby threatening the integrity of our elections,” U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) said. “The American people have lost trust in our election process. It is time for Congress to act and protect the security of the ballot. To restore faith in our elections, we must amend the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), clean up existing voter rolls, and empower citizens to report cases of voter fraud. This is why I voted in support of the SAVE Act. Even though only American citizens are permitted to vote in American elections, the NVRA hinders states from verifying citizenship when people register to vote. Similar to the Citizen Ballot Protection Act that I introduced last year, the SAVE Act amends the NVRA to require states to require proof of citizenship when individuals register to vote. Additionally, it requires states to remove non-citizens from their current voter rolls and empowers private citizens to help protect our elections by allowing them to bring up civil suits against election officials failing to require proof of citizenship.”
Sewell spoke in opposition to the SAVE Act on the House floor on Wednesday.
“While our colleagues across the aisle claim that this bill would prevent non-citizens from voting, we know that it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. In fact, under current law, non-citizens would face up to 5 years in prison for attempting to vote in federal elections, and even risk being deported,” Sewell said. “In reality, this legislation would purge thousands of eligible voters from the rolls including Americans who recently got married and changed their last names and those with military and tribal IDs. Americans should see this bill for what it is, a cynical attempt to sow doubt in the minds of voters about the integrity of our elections. It is yet another attempt to fan the flames of election denial by the same extremists who brought us the January 6th insurrection.”
The Senate is unlikely to pass the legislation due to a Democrat majority. U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to veto the bill if it comes to his desk.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) said, “By opposing the SAVE Act, Democrats have made clear that they support foreign nationals interfering in U.S. elections.”
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