(IntegrityTimes.com) – The House passed legislation on July 10 to advance an existing federal election law that only allows US citizens to vote in the country’s elections. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, led by Republican Texas Representative Chip Roy, passed the chamber 221 to 198 despite opposition from nearly all Democrats. No Republicans voted against the bill.
Republican co-sponsors of the bill included Majority Leader and Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise, Majority Whip and Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer, and Republican Party Conference Chair and New York Representative Elise Stefanik. The legislation would require citizens to provide states with documentary proof, in person, of their identity and US citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. The bill would also grant states no-cost access to Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases for the purpose of removing non-citizens from their existing electoral rolls.
President Joe Biden has already promised to veto the changes. The bill’s critics have argued that the legislature’s main goal is no longer relevant, and that the push to ensure that noncitizen voting is illegal is more likely to deny the rights of US citizens to vote than it is to prevent foreigners from voting.
The bill was motivated by former President Donald Trump’s concerns that migrants who illegally crossed the US-Mexico border could cast votes in upcoming presidential and congressional elections. Trump has continued to repeat his claim that his 2020 election defeat was impacted by large-scale election fraud.
House Speaker Mike Johnson stated in his speech before the vote that if the bill were not passed the House would surrender the country to illegal immigrants, violent offenders, murderers and cartel traffickers. Elon Musk commented on the bill, suggesting on X that anyone voting against it should be punished for “treason”.
The White House claimed in a statement before the legislature was passed at the House that the bill would only make it more complicated for eligible citizens to register to vote. It stressed that it was already a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, which can result in fines and jail time. The statement defended the safeguarding measures that are currently in place to ensure that voter rolls are accurate.
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