Sept. 6 (UPI) — Lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill Monday and Republicans are pushing for new voter registration requirements that would require providing certain proof-of-citizenship documentation.
They are also discussing attaching the bill, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, to stopgap funding meant to stave off a government shutdown.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, introduced the bill, alleging that non-citizens are improperly registering to vote across the country. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have often touted a conspiracy theory that immigrants are being shuttled into the United States to vote illegally throughout this election year.
“Secure elections are a key cornerstone for any representative government; without them, we won’t have a country. Radical progressive Democrats know this and are using open border policies while also attacking election integrity laws to fundamentally remake America,” Roy said in a statement. “That’s why I am proud to introduce the SAVE Act with Speaker Johnson and my Republican colleagues, along with the invaluable support of citizens and organizations that recognize we must end the practice of non-citizens voting in our elections.”
The bill passed the House in July and has been placed on the legislative calendar in the Senate.
Non-citizen voting is a rare occurrence that often happens by mistake, according to Michelle Kanter Cohen, policy director and senior counsel for the Fair Elections Center. Kanter Cohen told UPI that the penalties in place are already enough of a deterrent to stop non-citizens from attempting to vote. Penalties include prison time and deportation.
If the bill were to pass, potential voters would need to provide identification that is compliant with the REAL ID Act of 2005. Acceptable forms of identification would include a passport, military ID or a government-issued photo ID card that shows the applicant’s birth place.
About 53% of Americans have REAL ID compliant identification and less than 48% have a passport, according to the Federal Register. About 34% of Black Americans have a current passport, the lowest rate of any race or ethnicity.
Other forms of identification may be accepted only if shown in combination with a birth certificate or record of birth, a report of birth abroad by a U.S. citizen, a naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security or an American Indian Card with a “KIC” classification.
According to Kanter Cohen about 10% of eligible voters, or about 20 million people, do not have documentation that would meet the requirements to prove their citizenship.
“A lot of these documents are hard to get because they have underlying requirements and are expensive,” she said. “You have to go in person to the office to get them. There are high fees associated with them. Naturalization certification costs hundreds of dollars. For some people, that’s a very difficult expense.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has shot down efforts by states to enact proof-of-citizenship requirements in the past, most recently in 2013. Earlier this year it changed course to a degree. It blocked an Arizona law that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration but ruled that it can be required for some new voters.
Three conservative justices — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — wrote in the brief signed order that they would have allowed the law to stand in full, denying the registration of an estimated 42,000 Arizona voters. Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined three liberal justices in dissent.
Arturo Castellanos Canales, policy and advocacy manager for the National Immigration Forum, argues that it is not within Congress’ authority to determine who is qualified to vote. That authority falls to state legislatures.
“If it does [pass] I’m expecting courts to find the authority to determine the voting qualifications of the federal electorate is not up to Congress to decide,” he told UPI. “It seeks to solve a problem that does not exist. Non-citizens have been barred from voting in federal elections for at least a century. I don’t see how this bill could move forward.”
One strategy that is being discussed to move the bill forward is to attach it to a continuing resolution meant to extend funding of the federal government. Lawmakers have used continuing resolutions to approve stopgap funding in increments of a couple of months at a time for nearly a year.
Congress last passed a “minibus” funding package in March to keep the government funded through September.
“It’s so cynical to pass this in the first place. Then to try to attach it to something that makes our government run, it shows that what this bill is is really an attempt to stop people from voting,” Kanter Cohen said.
Kanter Cohen said that even national discussions about proof of citizenship can deter or disengage some potential voters who are legally eligible to cast ballots. They may be intimidated by a sense that they would be violating the law if they vote. She said it is important for would-be voters to check with their own state requirements and confirm their eligibility.
“People need accurate information from their state,” Kanter Cohen said. “These restrictive rules out there have effects that reverberate even beyond the state that they may apply to.”
Rachel Orey, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Elections Project, told UPI that there are other and better ways to deter illegal voting and reinforce trust in the process.
Other proposals include broader adoption of REAL ID standards, improving communication between state departments of motor vehicles and election officials and granting agencies access to databases like SAVE to verify immigration status.
“There are ways we can improve voter registration and list maintenance but these should be done in time,” Orey said. “They should be well-resourced changes. Not an unfunded mandate asking officers to do this right before an election.”
