Two moderate House Democrats are co-leading a bipartisan effort to crack down on foreigners voting in U.S. elections.
Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Grusenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) joined the bill, spearheaded by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), less than six months until the November presidential election.
The support of two Democrats is significant. A bill to repeal Washington DC’s policy of allowing foreigners to vote in local elections was fiercely opposed by the progressive left, but ultimately passed with the support of 52 Democrats.
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Reps. Marie Grusenkamp Perez and Jared Golden have signed a new bill that will crack down on foreigners voting in U.S. elections. (Getty Images)
More recently, House Republican leaders passed a bill earlier this month to require proof of citizenship as part of the voter registration process. The bill, backed by former President Trump, passed with the support of five Democrats but has not been taken up in the Senate.
The introduction of the bill comes as Republicans accuse the Biden administration of border and immigration policies that they say are contributing to an ongoing migration crisis at the US-Mexico border, with some saying the policies could lead to illegal immigrants voting in US elections.
“Across the world, the great and exclusive rights of citizens are inherently linked with equally great and exclusive responsibilities. You can’t have one without the other. So this bill affirms that the right to vote in the United States is a right reserved exclusively for citizens, no matter where they live in the country,” Golden said in a statement.
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The bill is being spearheaded by Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“We must protect our constitutional ideal that our nation’s decisions are made by the people, and this bipartisan bill will protect the integrity of the American people’s choice at the ballot box,” Perez said in his statement.
The bill would prohibit states from allowing foreigners to vote in federal elections, which is already illegal.
But it goes a step further by threatening federal funding to states that allow foreigners to vote in state and local elections.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, at a press conference with former President Trump (right), announced another election integrity measure that passed the House earlier this month. (Getty Images)
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The bill would also expand Americans’ own voting rights by requiring states to allow voters without a party affiliation to participate in their primaries. Currently, some states only have “closed primaries,” meaning only people who are registered with a particular party can participate in that party’s primary election.
Fitzpatrick said of the bill, “This commonsense reform is not political or controversial. This bill ensures that all U.S. citizens, regardless of party affiliation, have a clear right to vote, while strengthening election integrity by strictly prohibiting foreign nationals from participating in taxpayer-funded elections.”
