First appeared on FOX: House Republican leaders plan to consider a bill in July that would strengthen protections for foreign nationals voting, Fox News Digital has learned.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, circulated a memo to the House Republican Conference arguing for the need for the Protecting American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) (obtained by Fox News Digital). After this Friday, Congress will recess for a week for Independence Day before reconvening on July 8.
Johnson announced the bill, which was promoted by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) along with former President Trump, at a high-profile press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.
The 22-page report claims there is “irrefutable evidence” that foreign nationals have voted illegally in US elections, and holds the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) to blame.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, announced the bill at Mar-a-Lago alongside former President Trump. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
“The NVRA does not require states to require proof of citizenship when registering an individual to vote in federal elections. Rather, the NVRA relies solely on an individual’s proof that they are a citizen and eligible to vote. In 44 states, if an individual completes and signs a universal NVRA form (the form), the state is required by federal law to register that person to vote,” the memo reads.
Johnson’s document also argues that the Biden administration’s border policies have made the problem worse by allowing more people to enter the U.S. illegally.
“The Biden Administration’s dismantling of border security and related policies have allowed millions of foreign nationals to enter the country, violate immigration laws, and exploit the immigration screening system. [a Social Security number]”is what it reads.
They also point to reports that states such as Massachusetts, Virginia and Ohio have recently removed foreign nationals from their voter rolls.
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The bill was first pushed by Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.
Since May 2023, Virginia has removed nearly 1,500 people from its voter rolls due to their “non-citizen status,” according to the memo. Election Process Education Corporation The memo noted that 335 of them had voted in Virginia elections in the past four years, according to the report.
“Earlier this year, Boston, Massachusetts, election officials told the Public Interest Legal Foundation that the city had removed 70 foreign nationals from the city’s voter rolls,” the document reads.
Additionally, Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State recently ordered more than 130 people removed from the state’s voter rolls, the memo said, adding that “Ohio law imposes very high hurdles for county elections officials to remove someone from the rolls because they lack citizenship.”
Democratic critics of the SAVE Act argue that the bill is unnecessary because it is already illegal for foreign nationals to vote in federal elections.
The timing of next month’s vote will be significant because it comes less than six months before a rematch between President Trump and President Biden.
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But even if it passes, it’s highly unlikely to be taken up in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
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“Today, I stand next to President Trump and I say that I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that we have free and fair elections in this country,” Johnson said in April at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, home.
“This is fundamental to who we are as a nation, and we owe it to the American people, so we’re introducing legislation that would require anyone who registers to vote in a federal election to prove they’re a U.S. citizen,” the speaker said. “Our bill would establish new safeguards and put us on par with nearly every other democracy around the world that bans foreign nationals from voting, and this is an important thing to do at a critical time for us. Our bill would also require states to remove foreign nationals from existing voter rolls.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
