Democrats have made clear they will vote on Wednesday in opposition to legislation that would require a would-be voter to prove he is a citizen before registering, suggesting the bill is unnecessary because it’s illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections and there are already “effective safeguards in place to verify voters’ eligibility.”
But those “safeguards” are flawed and ineffective.
President Joe Biden released a statement Monday expressing opposition to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The legislation would amend the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to require applicants to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
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Biden claimed the “justification for this bill is based on easily disproven falsehoods” and noted “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,” Biden alleged.
But how “effective” are the current mechanisms in place?
A Square Box Stands Between a Noncitizen And a Vote
The first line of defense preventing foreign nationals from voting in federal elections is a small square box on a voter registration form. The box asks “Are you a citizen of the United States of America?” Further down, the application asks each registrant to sign his name and “swear/affirm that” he is a “United States
