Democrats want noncitizens to vote in our elections

Democrats want noncitizens to vote in our elections.

That was the unmistakable conclusion of last week’s vote in the House of Representatives. Republicans passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act, which would require states to obtain proof of citizenship when someone registers to vote in federal elections. But Democrats overwhelmingly voted against the bill . Only five Democrats stood for election integrity.

The bill’s simple voting requirements would help deter all noncitizens from voting, whether they’re here legally or illegally. This is especially important now, since under President Joe Biden’s watch as many as 10 million illegal immigrants have poured into the country. States, especially blue and purple states that have weakened election integrity in recent years, should be forced to make sure noncitizens don’t register to vote.

But House Democrats turned their backs on the American citizens they’re supposed to serve. Their argument against protecting the integrity of America’s elections is equal parts insincere and unbelievable. They claimed the SAVE Act isn’t necessary because federal law already makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote. According to Democrats, that makes this a nonissue. But then what’s the problem with Congress passing an additional layer of electoral integrity?

The real story is that noncitizen voting is a problem — and Democrats know it. While it’s true that federal law makes it illegal for noncitizens to cast a ballot, that law has no enforcement mechanism. Today, at voter registration sites across the country, legal and illegal immigrants alike can simply walk up, claim they’re a citizen, and register to vote with no proof required.

Many of those sites are run by left-leaning third-party groups who blindly oppose any measure that would make it harder to cheat in elections. Does anyone really think they’re checking to see who’s a citizen?

Then there are government-run DMVs. Under current law, their customers must be offered an opportunity to register to vote, and customers only have to promise they’re legally authorized to do so. Again, there’s no proof of citizenship required, and the possibility of abuse, and even unintentional misunderstanding, is high.

The bottom line is that federal law has a massive loophole on voter registration, one that noncitizens can easily jump through and likely do more than most people realize. Yet the solution is as clear as the problem. If everyone was required to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote, then it would be much harder for noncitizens to get on America’s voter rolls. It wouldn’t be foolproof, but it would be infinitely better than the status quo.

Some states are trying to close this loophole on their own. The Republican-led legislatures in Wisconsin and North Carolina have put this issue on the ballot in November, putting it before the voters. Lawmakers made this move over the objections of their Democratic governors, another telling admission that shows the Left’s tolerance for noncitizen voting. Six additional states have ballot measures this fall as well.

Yet ultimately, this is a nationwide issue, so Congress must act. The Opportunity Solutions Project has led a coalition of about 50 conservative groups and leaders in calling on both the House and Senate to pass the SAVE Act as soon as possible. As the letter stated, it’s their “duty to make sure the votes of every legal citizen count and that election results aren’t influenced by non-citizens.” After all, “if the American people don’t have confidence in the system — or think that non-citizens will cancel out their ballot — they won’t vote.”

The SAVE Act is the definition of common sense. It closes a loophole in federal law. It gives teeth to a fundamental tenet of free and fair elections. And it’s especially necessary after the unprecedented surge in illegal immigration under Biden. With as many as 10 million illegal immigrants flooding into America in the last four years, there has never been a greater danger of noncitizens voting in elections — and potentially even swaying them.

Democrats know it. That’s why almost all of them voted against the SAVE Act last week and why the Democrats who control the Senate won’t let it come to a vote. They won’t say it out loud, but their actions speak volumes.

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Tarren Bragdon is CEO of Opportunity Solutions Project.