In a move stirring intense controversy, Congressional Democrats have voted against the GOP's SAVE Act, which aims to restrict illegal immigrants from voting.
In a controversial move, Democrats in Congress have voted against the SAVE Act, a GOP-backed bill that aims to impose restrictions on illegal immigrants voting in U.S. elections. This decision has sparked intense debate, with Democrats likening voter identification rules to Civil War-era racist exclusion laws.
Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) vocally opposed the bill on the House floor, arguing, "This is the 2024 version of the Jim Crow poll tax and we should vote against it." The SAVE Act would require individuals to prove their citizenship before voting, a measure McClellan compared to the historical poll tax that disenfranchised many voters from the 1800s until the 1960s.
McClellan highlighted the financial burden associated with obtaining proof of citizenship documents, stating, "This bill is essentially a poll tax, because I am not aware of a single proof of citizenship document that does not cost an individual money to get it [and] unless we are requiring every state to provide one for free … it’s an unfunded mandate." In Virginia, the cost for a driver's license is $4 per year, and $2 per year for a simple identification card, a stark contrast to the $14 billion spent on political campaigns in the 2020 election.
President Joe Biden’s administration has promised to veto the bill if it passes both the House and Senate. GOP leaders are pushing the bill in anticipation of the upcoming election, following their unsuccessful attempt to attach it to essential spending measures in the spring.
Voter identification bills enjoy strong support among citizens, but Democrats argue that the presence of many illegal immigrants in U.S. cities could lead to fraudulent voting practices. William Gheen, founder of the ALIPAC movement advocating for tighter border security, expressed concerns about illegal ballots being smuggled into ballot boxes through mail-in voting and drop-off boxes. He warned that Democratic operatives might exploit this situation, using various organizations to conduct ballot-creation campaigns.
Gheen also suggested that migrants might be coerced into voting illegally, stating, “They’re going to sit the [migrants] down and say, ‘Joe Biden says it’s okay, [Barack] Obama says it’s okay, and if you don’t want to get deported, you need to do this.’”
Democrats are fiercely opposing the SAVE Act, arguing that it would disenfranchise marginalized communities. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) claimed, “Republicans want to throw up barriers because when people vote, they lose,” adding that requiring IDs would disproportionately affect black, brown, LGBTQIA, and young voices. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), the U.S.-born daughter of illegal immigrants from Guatemala, labeled the requirement for migrants to prove their citizenship as “discriminatory.”
The battle over the SAVE Act continues, highlighting deep divisions over voter rights and immigration in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.
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