FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers within the Home and Senate are renewing a push to crack down on noncitizen voting in federal elections, reintroducing a bipartisan invoice that was repeatedly touted final 12 months by the GOP.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, are reintroducing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which appears to make sure that noncitizens can’t vote in federal elections.
Whereas solely residents can vote in federal elections, Republicans have claimed that it’s unattainable to implement as a result of noncitizens and illegal immigrants are eligible for driver’s licenses and different advantages in states, which may make them being registered to vote.
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Individuals arrive to forged their ballots throughout early voting. (Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu through Getty Photographs)
The invoice requires states to acquire documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identification in particular person when registering a person to vote. It additionally requires states to ascertain a program to take away noncitizens from the voter rolls, and permits residents to carry fits towards officers that fail to uphold the legislation.
The invoice was handed within the House last year, with 5 Democrats voting in favor, however stalled within the Senate – the place the Democrat-controlled chamber handed a spending invoice with out the SAVE Act being included, as Republicans had hoped. President Biden had promised to veto the invoice.
The invoice has gained rising significance amongst Republicans amid a surge of migrants into the U.S. throughout the Biden administration, in addition to latest bulletins by states that that they had recognized hundreds of noncitizens on their rolls.
However now Republicans management the Senate and shortly the White Home, the place President-elect Trump has voiced assist for laws to forestall noncitizens from voting.
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“Republicans should move the Save Act, or go house and cry your self to sleep,” he mentioned in July.
Roy, who’s introducing the invoice within the Home with Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-NY., mentioned, “American elections belong to Americans, and the general public’s confidence in these elections is the cornerstone of our republic,”
“We in Congress have an obligation to our fellow residents to offer that confidence. We should have concrete enforcement mechanisms in place to make sure that our elections and our sovereignty can’t be hijacked and influenced by international nationals who don’t have any enterprise voting on this nation,” he mentioned.
Rep. Chip Roy nominates Rep. Jim Jordan to be speaker earlier than the third spherical of voting within the Home chamber on Jan. 3, 2023. (Invoice Clark/CQ-Roll Name, Inc through Getty Photographs)
“The Home handed this essential bipartisan invoice final 12 months – we should do it once more. I sit up for working with the Republican Senate to place this coverage on President Trump’s desk,” he mentioned.
Lee mentioned public belief in election integrity “is totally important for the legitimacy of our democratic establishments.”
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“A overwhelming majority of our countrymen agree: solely Americans ought to have the ability to register and vote in American elections. The SAVE Act provides states the flexibility to forestall unlawful voter registration and shield the poll field from international election interference,” he mentioned.
Garbarino, in the meantime, criticized New York Metropolis for disregarding the precept of Americans deciding their elections by permitting noncitizens to vote in native elections.
“The SAVE Act upholds the integrity of our elections by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, guaranteeing this basic proper is reserved solely for Americans,” he mentioned.
The invoice additionally has the assist of teams together with the Solely Residents Vote Coalition, Tea Celebration Patriots Motion and the Immigration Accountability Venture. It has 59 co-sponsors within the Home. The invoice was launched within the decrease chamber on Friday and is predicted to be launched within the Senate subsequent week.
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The invoice comes as Congress is predicted to have immigration-related points as a prime precedence. On Tuesday, the Home handed the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal immigration authorities to detain unlawful immigrants discovered responsible of theft-related crimes. It additionally would enable states to sue the Division of Homeland Safety for hurt precipitated to their residents due to unlawful immigration.
Fox Information’ Julia Johnson and Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
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