The administration released a statement Monday saying it “strongly opposes” H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.
The legislation is expected to come to the House floor for a vote this week.
The bill was introduced in May by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) in the House and by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in the Senate. It would require states to obtain proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote and would mandate that states remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls. It would also allow individuals to file civil lawsuits against election officials who do not follow the requirements.
The White House contends that “effective safeguards” already exist to verify voters’ eligibility and maintain the integrity of voter registration rolls.
“This bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls. The evidence is clear that the current laws to prevent noncitizen voting are working as intended—it is extraordinarily rare for noncitizens to break the law by voting in Federal elections,” the Biden administration wrote.
Perhaps the existing law was effective for previous federal elections. Pew Research Center numbers show millions of migrants have entered the U.S. since Biden became president.
While Biden expressed his displeasure, the White House statement did not mention a possible presidential veto.
Roy isn’t surprised his bill is getting blow back from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Democrats “don’t believe in America as a thing. They don’t want to protect what it means to be an American citizen. They don’t believe in American exceptionalism. They want one world, a new order, and they’re fine with open borders,” Roy said on American Family Radio Tuesday.
House Speaker backs SAVE Act
House Speaker Mike Johnson in late June released a 22-page report urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act in an effort to restore confidence in U.S. elections.
There is “irrefutable evidence that noncitizens have been illegally registering to vote and have illegally voted in U.S. elections,” Johnson’s report stated.
It cited a 2014 study of elections in 2008 and 2010 that concluded non-citizens had voted and had likely determined the outcome in certain races.
"When the White House announced they would veto the [SAVE Act], they effectively handed our elections over to all of these illegal aliens that have come here – and the number is far greater than what's being reported …. We cannot allow a federal election to be jeopardized by people who can run into the local welfare office, sign up for taxpayer benefits and check a box that says 'I'm a citizen and I want to vote.'" (House Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox News Channel, July 9, 2024)
The 14th Amendment and the National Voter Registration Act – also known as Motor Voter – each establish the requirement of citizenship in order to vote.
The NVRA prohibits states from requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration but allows states to require proof of citizenship for voting.
Roy’s bill clarifies the citizenship requirements for states. The SAVE Act would require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when an individual registers to vote.
It would also require states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls.
Democrats’ strategy for 2024
Cleta Mitchell, an attorney and senior legal fellow for the Conservative Partnership Institute, says the SAVE Act is badly needed.
"It would say that not only are states not prohibited from requiring documented proof of citizenship, but … they're required to obtain that documented proof of citizenship before registering people to vote in a federal election," she explained on the Sandy Rios 24/7 podcast. "This is a crisis. This is how I think they're planning to win the election."
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark urged Democrats to vote no on the SAVE Act, Axios reported.
“These charges would prevent Americans from registering to vote with their driver’s license alone, as Real ID does not indicate citizenship and is in fact available to noncitizens. Under the SAVE Act, for the overwhelming majority of Americans, the only acceptable standalone form of identification for use in voter registration would be a passport,” Clark’s office wrote.
The Real ID Act was passed in 2005 and established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.
The Act recognizes state driver’s licenses that meet Real ID standards, a U.S. passport, a U.S. passport card, a “trusted” traveler card and a U.S. military ID.
The SAVE Act would recognize any form of identification consistent with the requirements of the Real ID Act.
Democrats also contend there has been “zero evidence of widespread fraud” and that the bill would place an undue burden on hopeful voters.
Roy disagrees.
“Our bill is simple. You should be a citizen to vote. Eighty-five percent or so of Americans believe that. It’s already federal law, but federal law currently also has been interpreted to prohibit states from actually checking citizenship. So what good is it? So, our bill would fix that and go one step further,” he told show host Jenna Ellis.
Scare strategy from Democrats
Roy predicts Democrats will try, unsuccessfully, to scare minority voters into believing they will be disenfranchised by the bill. The bill was written, he said, to comply with court rulings in the past about documentary evidence.
"We make it fairly simple. We want to preserve and protect people's right to vote, but we want to fix the system so that you can believe in it. Nothing more, nothing less," he said. "They're hiding behind it because they don't like the policy. That's the actual truth.”
