The U.S. House today passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, which would make states require, documents that prove a person is a U.S. citizen when registering to vote.
Such documents could be a Real ID, passport, or identification that show a person’s place of birth. A standard driver’s license would not be enough by itself, and would require some kind of secondary proof, such as a birth certificate.
Most Democrats voted against it, but it passed, 221-198. Rep. Mary Peltola was avoiding the media and her duties in the Capitol this week, instead spending time hiding out along a river in rural Alaska, far from the uncomfortable votes and reporters’ questions about her views on President Biden’s competency.
The SAVE Act also calls for states to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls and for the Department of Homeland Security to start deportation procedures against those who are unlawfully registered.
“Today 198 House Democrats voted against preventing illegal aliens from voting in American elections,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “Over the past four years, Joe Biden has welcomed millions upon millions of illegals into the country knowing that noncitizens only have to check a box to vote in a federal election.”
“We have long known this was an intentional effort to turn them into voters, and now the American people know where every member of Congress stands on this critically important issue,” Johnson said. “House Republicans believe that only Americans should vote in American elections. House Democrats have now proven they believe that illegal aliens should vote in American elections.”
Democrat Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, for whom Rep. Peltola voted 18 times to become speaker in 2022, called it a “extreme MAGA Republican voter suppression bill.” He put pressure on Democrats to vote against it and all but five who were present went along. Peltola was among the 10 Democrats who were not present.
“There is no evidence that has been presented to suggest that undocumented individuals have been participating in federal elections,” Jeffries stated.
President Joe Biden said he will veto the legislation.
Congressional candidate Nick Begich said, “For most people, skipping a week of work to go fishing would get them FIRED. Hard working Alaskans don’t get that luxury and neither should their only member of the House. @MaryPeltola #GetBacktoWork.“
States are not waiting for Biden. They have begun adopting measures to ensure that non-citizens are not voting in their states. With over 7.2 million illegal migrants having entered the United States since Biden became president, most continental states are experiencing the adverse conditions that come with criminal activity being brought over the border from Mexico.
This November, voters in North Carolina, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin will vote on ballot measures that would change their state constitutions to say that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections.
