Free and fair elections are fundamental to our system of government. This November, voters should be able to cast their ballots with complete confidence that the outcome will be representative of the American people.
Unfortunately, current lax voter registration laws have allowed noncitizens to register and vote in our federal elections. Only American citizens should be able to vote in American elections. Yet, 198 House Democrats just voted against the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, straightforward legislation that, will require individuals to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
While it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections, it’s also illegal to evade Border Patrol to cross the southern border… with millions of foreign nationals, including hundreds whose names appear on the terrorist watch list, legislation like this has become necessary to safeguard our elections.
Protecting the integrity of elections continues a fight from my days as a member of the Arkansas General Assembly. We passed a bill to establish voter ID in Arkansas and even overrode the then-Democrat Governor’s veto attempt of the measure. I am proud that Arkansas has robust policies in place to ensure the fairness of our elections. Unfortunately, some states do not have the same requirements in place.
I firmly believe that the responsibility of carrying out elections should be left to individual states, as is clearly outlined in the constitution (Article 1, Section 4). At the same time, the federal government has a responsibility to block foreign nationals from breaking the law to participate in our election process. The SAVE Act is common sense policy that will require nationwide proof of citizenship before registering to vote in federal elections – making it easier for states to lawfully carry out their elections.
It’s a shame that the crisis at the southern border has escalated to a level that puts our elections at risk, making legislation like the SAVE Act necessary. I’ll always support legislation to ensure a safe, secure, and legal election system, and I will continue to fight to secure the southern border and remove the millions of foreign nationals who are in our country illegally.
