House Passes Bill to Stop Illegal Aliens From Voting in Federal Elections

FAIR Take | July 2024

Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The FAIR-supported SAVE Act requires states to obtain documentary proof of citizenship when registering individuals to vote in federal elections. It also requires states to remove noncitizens, including illegal aliens, from voter rolls to ensure they do not dilute the votes of American citizens. Introduced by Congressman Chip Roy (R-Texas), the bill passed by a vote of 221-198, with all Republicans and five Democrats voting in favor.

The need to protect the integrity of U.S. elections has never been greater. Under the Biden Administration, the number of illegal aliens present in the United States has reached unprecedented levels. There are now at least 16.8 million illegal aliens residing in the country, and since January 2021, nearly 10 million illegal aliens have been encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), along with at least 1.8 million “gotaways.” The Biden Administration has also abused our immigration laws to allow millions of otherwise inadmissible aliens into the country, releasing them on “parole” or granting Temporary Protected Status to allow them to remain in the U.S. 

To ensure the millions of newly-arrived illegal aliens are not able to register to vote, the SAVE Act reforms the law in two major ways. First, it requires state elections officials to verify a registrant’s citizenship using documents such as a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, or a REAL-ID compliant form of identification. Second, the bill requires states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls. To assist states in removing noncitizens from voter rolls, the SAVE Act provides for states to utilize existing federal databases to verify citizenship status, including the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database and the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS). Finally, the legislation creates a private right of action for citizens to bring civil suits against election officials that fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements.

As the vote neared on the House floor, Republicans voiced strong support for the SAVE Act. That morning, at a press conference, Congressman Chip Roy (R-Texas) laid out the case for the legislation: “It is already unlawful for noncitizens to vote. But unfortunately, we don’t have a mechanism for ensuring that is the case…Our legislation simply fixes that. Our legislation provides ample avenues for American citizens to be able to vote. In no way will Americans’ right to vote be hampered.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) strongly backed the bill, even releasing a report outlining the need for it. In a speech on the House floor, he said: “This will be one of the most important votes that members of this chamber will ever take in their entire careers. And it’s an issue we never thought we would have to actually address, but that moment has come to us now. Should Americans and Americans alone determine the outcome of American elections? Or should we allow foreigners and illegal aliens to decide who sits in the White House and in the People’s House and in the Senate?”

The legislation faced significant opposition from the White House and almost all Democrats before ultimately passing. Despite overwhelming support from Americans, the White House issued a formal statement opposing the bill and has indicated that President Biden will veto the legislation if it reaches his desk. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) claimed that the legislation would suppress the votes of American citizens, arguing that “it is not designed to solve any problem on behalf of the American people. It is designed to jam people up and prevent Americans from voting.”

The Senate now has the opportunity to consider the SAVE Act to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in our elections. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) filed a companion bill in the Senate in May, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has not indicated whether he will take up the legislation. As Sen. Lee said in May, “Voting is both a sacred right and responsibility of American citizenship, and allowing the people of other nations access to our elections is a grave blow to our security and self-governance.” Moving forward, FAIR will work to advance the legislation in the Senate and continue to advocate for commonsense changes to ensure that only Americans have a say in American elections.