Prepared for a vote the week of July 15, House Democrats intend to oppose the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would force state election officials to demand documentation of an applicant’s citizenship before granting them a voter registration form.
The SAVE Act would force state election officials to demand that applicants for voter registration present proof of American citizenship, a requirement that Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has determined is essential to protecting the country’s elections from foreign influence.
Such election officials would not be eligible for federal voter registration unless they received documentation of their American citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate.
In a policy brief on the SAVE Act, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated that “noncitizen voting is a threat to election integrity.”
“To address the loopholes that have permitted noncitizens to vote, to improve election security, to lower the possibility of foreign election meddling, and to rebuild American faith in U.S. elections, Congress must enact the SAVE Act.”
Axios reports that House Democrats, however, are getting ready for a big battle on the subject.
Representatives from swing districts that supported former President Donald Trump and are up against challenging reelection are under pressure from House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), who is insisting that Democrats vote against the SAVE Act.
According to a July 2022 YouGov poll, 65% of Americans—48% of Democrats, 62% of swing voters, and 88% of Republicans—support needing citizenship documentation in order to cast a ballot in an election.
Less than 25% of Americans are against requiring identification to vote.
