Amid the worst border crisis in American history and the general election just months away, Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to ensure that only U.S. citizens will vote in the federal election. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) recently introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act which would bolster efforts to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections by requiring proof of citizenship to register.

“There is currently an unprecedented and a clear and present danger to the integrity of our election system. And that is the threat of non-citizens and illegal aliens voting in our elections,” said Johnson during a recent press conference. 

The 22-page bill amends the National Voter Registration Act to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. 

It would require voters to provide a form of I.D. including a U.S. passport, military I.D., birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a government-issued photo I.D. card showing that the applicant’s place of birth was in the United States.

It also outlines that if someone is voting by mail, they must go to an election official’s office to show proof of citizenship by a certain deadline.

“As we approach the 2024 elections, the American people must have absolute certainty in the integrity of our election system,” Johnson said in a statement. “This bill would fortify federal elections by ensuring that only American citizens vote in American elections.”

Although non-citizen voting in federal elections is already illegal, evidence indicates the GOP lawmakers’ concern over election integrity is not unfounded. 

In a 2016 post-election audit report, the state of North Carolina discovered 41 instances where immigrants who were not yet U.S. citizens voted in state elections.

Eloy Alberto Zayas-Berrier, an immigrant from Cuba, told the Washington Times he can’t qualify for U.S. citizenship and Cuba has refused to take him back.

But even without a green card, he showed up to early voting in North Carolina on Nov. 5, 2016, was invited to register, and cast a ballot. 

Juan Francisco Landeros-Mireles joined a line of people at a food pantry and ended up registering to vote. His lawyer, James Todd Jr., said Landeros-Mireles cast a ballot in the 2012 and 2016 elections. 

“The fact of the matter is, when you go to vote in person, you are asked your name and your residence and then you’re asked to sign on the list there. There’s no questions about citizenship at that point,” Todd explained. 

Republican lawmakers say this is why they are calling for more to be done ahead of November 5th. 

“We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections, but it’s not been something that is easily provable,” Johnson said. 

READ: Illegal Migrants Encouraged to Illegally Vote for Biden Once They Get Into the US

“Under Joe Biden’s watch, over 11 million illegal aliens are now here on U.S. soil. That’s enough to replace the entire population of Kansas almost FOUR TIMES over,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) said. “Democrats’ motivations behind welcoming this influx of migrants has been clear: they believe these are future Democrat voters. While requiring U.S. citizenship for federal elections has long been a requirement, our legislation finally puts pen to paper on the exact documents a person will need to prove they are, in fact, an American citizen and eligible voter. Proof of citizenship as a requirement to vote in our elections should not be controversial – it is our responsibility to protect the integrity of our electoral process.”

Meanwhile, Democrats are lambasting the Republican lawmakers, calling the effort to ensure election integrity a “non-issue.”

They also fear that asking for voters to give additional identification could discourage eligible voters who can’t locate their birth certificates or Social Security cards.

“It appears the lesson Republicans learned from the fiasco that the former president caused in 2020 was not ‘Don’t steal an election’ — it was just ‘Start earlier,'” said New York Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Administration Committee. 

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