Speaker Mike Johnson: Only Americans should decide our elections. Here’s how Congress can guarantee it

There are few things more important to our country than ensuring the integrity of our elections. The people rightfully demand it, and Congress has a duty to act.  

Yet, when given the opportunity to eliminate one of the most glaring threats to fair elections, 198 House Democrats voted instead to keep the door open to fraud. 

The threat is very real. In nearly all 50 states today — including every major electoral battleground state — a noncitizen can walk into a DMV or welfare office, fill out a federal voter registration form, claim they are a U.S. citizen, and be registered to vote.  That noncitizen can then cast a ballot and help decide the direction of America. 

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This is not a hypothetical problem. I was recently in San Diego, CA to tour the new epicenter of the Biden-Harris border catastrophe where brave, overworked Customs and Border Protection agents have encountered millions of illegals. The agents told me the Biden-Harris Executive Order isn’t working the way the administration says it is. In some ways, it’s made the crisis worse.  

Noncitizen voting jeopardizes the rights of all Americans. FILE: 'Vote Here' sign is seen at a voting precinct.  (REUTERS/Emily Elconin)

Instead of carrying out their mission of protecting our borders, they have become processing agents, forced by the administration to send illegals throughout the country with little paperwork or record of their location. Many of them end up at local DMVs.  

While it is illegal and clearly wrong for a noncitizen to vote in a federal election, and thus engage in foreign election interference, a current loophole in the National Voter Registration Act actually prevents states from requesting proof of citizenship when the registration form is signed.   

To close that dangerous loophole and help ensure that only Americans decide American elections, House Republicans drafted and passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.  

Our legislation makes several critically important reforms. It requires state election officials to request proof of citizenship for every person registering to vote and gives the state officials easy access to federal databases so they can confirm citizenship status. 

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The SAVE Act also requires those state officials to clean up their voter rolls and directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine whether to conduct removal proceedings of any illegal alien who has registered unlawfully. 

To ensure actual citizens can continue to easily register to vote, the bill allows state officials to accept a wide variety of documents for registrants to prove citizenship and requires states to establish an alternative process for Americans who have misplaced their documentation.  

Finally, the SAVE Act requires DHS to notify a state chief election official whenever an individual has been naturalized to ensure our newest citizens can exercise their right to vote. 

These commonsense provisions are not only right, but they are also in high demand. Polling has shown that 89% of Americans believe only Americans should decide elections — including 82% of Democrats, 80% of Black voters, and 78% of Hispanic voters. 

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In light of all this, one would expect overwhelmingly bipartisan support for the SAVE Act in Congress. But Democrat leaders put on a full-court press to discourage their members from supporting our bill, and the White House issued a veto threat. 

The Democrats’ opposition to this simple election integrity bill is indefensible and exposes their intention to allow illegal aliens to vote.  

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Earlier this year, most of these same Democrats voted to count illegal aliens in the 2030 Census. They also voted to let noncitizens vote in local elections in Washington, D.C. Some may also remember, how, in 2019, then-presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris relied on a study that touted the "electoral implications" of widespread amnesty, including "sizable contributions to the margin of victory in swing states." Perhaps that’s why Border Czar Harris has done such a pitiful job securing the border. 

Those who have illegally entered our country have no regard for our laws and have no right to interfere in our lawful election processes. Virtually all Americans agree — except for the Biden-Harris administration and congressional Democrats, who are so desperate to hang on to power that they will sacrifice the integrity of our election system.   

While it is illegal and clearly wrong for a noncitizen to vote in a federal election, and thus engage in foreign election interference, a current loophole in the National Voter Registration Act actually prevents states from requesting proof of citizenship when the registration form is signed.   

In a study of the 2008 election, researchers estimated that 6.4% of noncitizens in the U.S. had voted in the general election. If a similar portion of the 7.2 million illegal aliens Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have welcomed into the country were to vote this year, those 460,800 votes would be more than enough to change the election outcome in a few key battleground states.  

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In an era of divided government where every single ballot matters immensely, we must have zero tolerance for fraud. One of our Republican colleagues won her first race in 2020 by only six votes. And for many weeks during this Congress, our majority in the House was held by just a one vote margin.  

As the sanctity of our elections now hangs in the balance, the SAVE Act is urgently needed. It is smart policy and overwhelmingly supported by the American people. Everyone who shares this common concern should insist that Senator Schumer bring this bill forward to pass in the Senate, and that President Biden then sign it into law. The stakes could not be any higher.