During last month’s budget talks on Capitol Hill, Republican lawmakers sought unsuccessfully to include language that prohibits illegal immigrants from voting, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia), told the "Washington Watch" program last week.
Republicans do so, not out of paranoia or a conspiracy theory, but because Democrats are openly pushing for it.
Congressman David Trone (D-Maryland), who is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat from his state, told a candidate forum that illegals should have the same rights as U.S. citizens and, in fact, should quickly become citizens.
"We need to welcome all 12 million folks here now that are DACA, TPS, and undocumented – make them citizens, and move forward. They have all the rights everybody here should have also," Trone said.
He was referencing Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA), also known as "Dreamers," who were brought to the U.S. as children by illegal immigrant parents, as well as migrants granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Fox News reported.
Rep. Clyde told show host Jody Hice that Democrats also stripped an amendment that said only U.S. citizens would be counted in the apportionment of Congressional seats.
Although Republicans were not able to push through greater election protection efforts in the budget discussion, there are important steps being made in one key state: Georgia. After the state went for Joe Biden by less than 12,000 votes, and Donald Trump’s subsequent challenges, lawmakers passed SB 202 that allows the state election board, county commissions or a certain number of state House and Senate members to request an independent group to conduct a performance review of those who supervise elections.
SB 202 also empowers the state election board to make suspensions and appoint replacements.
More actions are in the hopper. According to Clyde, SB 202 "greatly improved" election integrity and it's just one of three related bills awaiting the Governor's signature.
"It’s absolutely critical that we make it easier to vote and harder to cheat," the Congressman urged. "As we have seen, cheating has happened here in Georgia and that’s got to stop.”
'Election denier' is dishonest...and clever
As individual states work to make elections more secure, they need to stand tall when Democrats try to shout them into submission, Clyde said.
“You can go back to 2016 when Hillary Clinton denied that President Trump won, and Hakeem Jeffries, now the minority leader in the House, he did the same thing, denied that President Trump won," Clyde said. "Down here in Georgia, where Stacey Abrams denied the Gov. Kemp won the election."
Despite those recent examples, Democrats dishonestly label Republicans "election deniers" if they claim the very same thing, even suggesting Republicans are endangering the election process and democracy itself.
Clyde views that bullying strategy as a clever way of cheating.
“When the election is not free and fair, and you challenge that result, then you become an election denier," he said. "We are election integrity champions, we are not deniers. We believe in free and fair elections for everyone."
