House Republicans Pass Bill Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote

House Republicans for a second time passed a stand-alone bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and impose voter roll purge requirements on states.

The legislation — formally titled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act — passed in a 220-208 vote.

Four Democrats — Reps. Ed Case (Hawaii), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Jared Golden (Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) — voted with all Republicans in favor.

It’s already illegal for those who are not U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections, and has been since 1996. But proponents of the bill have argued it is necessary to prevent migrants from voting in elections — a claim contradicted by data showing only a handful of documented cases.

“There is nothing more sacred under the Constitution than ensuring that the people are able to have the voice in the election of the people that represent them in Washington, and throughout the country,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of the sponsors of the bill, said, thanking Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who helped President Trump challenge his 2020 election loss, for her work on the bill.

“Once that is undermined, then people lose faith in the very institutions upon which this is built. This legislation is designed to restore that faith, to save our elections, to save election integrity.”

Democrats argue the bill is a misguided effort to ban an already illegal practice and will just make it tougher for Americans to vote, including scores of people who don’t readily have proof of citizenship.

{snip}

When Republicans first introduced the legislation last year, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said while it’s tough to prove migrants are voting in U.S. elections, it’s something the party “intuitively” knows is happening.

{snip}