President Biden vows to block the SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship for voter registration, sparking a heated debate on election integrity and voter access.
President Joe Biden is signaling his intention to block the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which mandates proof of American citizenship for voter registration in federal elections.
The SAVE Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and co-sponsored by over 100 House Republicans, seeks to ensure state election officials verify American citizenship before adding applicants to voter rolls.
“Federal law has been interpreted to prohibit states from checking to see if you’re a citizen even though, technically, the law says you must be a citizen,” Roy explained in an interview with Breitbart News.
This week, the Biden administration released a statement opposing the SAVE Act, stating:
“The administration strongly opposes H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections — it is a federal crime punishable by prison and fines. The alleged justification for this bill is based on easily disproven falsehoods. Additionally, making a false claim of citizenship or unlawfully voting in an election is punishable by removal from the United States and a permanent bar to admission. States already have effective safeguards in place to verify voters’ eligibility and maintain the accuracy of voter rolls.
This bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls. The evidence is clear that the current laws to prevent noncitizen voting are working as intended — it is extraordinarily rare for noncitizens to break the law by voting in federal elections.”
Instead, the Biden administration urges Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, which aims to restore voting rights to felons who have completed their prison sentences. The bill also proposes nationwide mail-in voting and automatic voter registration.
House Democrats are actively opposing the SAVE Act, putting vulnerable swing district representatives in a challenging position ahead of the November elections.
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