In July, the U.S. House passed the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. The measure was passed largely upon party lines (only five Democrats voted in favor of it) and was not expected to advance through the Senate or receive support from President Joe Biden (or whoever is calling the shots these days).
With Vote on SAVE Act, House Dems Reveal Their Stance on Noncitizen Voting
As we noted at the time:
The primary talking point of opposition to the measure appears to be, “But that (non-citizen voting), like, hardly ever happens.”
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration, a proposal Republicans have prioritized as an election-year talking point even as research shows noncitizens illegally registering and casting ballots in federal elections is exceptionally rare.
We’ve seen that narrative from numerous quarters:
House GOP passes bill targeting noncitizen voting – already illegal in federal elections – in Trump-aligned push
Noncitizens Are Not Voting in Federal or State Elections — Here’s Why
Noncitizen voting isn’t an issue in federal elections, regardless of conspiracy theories. Here’s why
Whew! That’s a relief, right? There’s just one hitch: Thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote even though it’s illegal for them to vote — and that’s just in Virginia alone.
On Wednesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order on election security, which, among other things, identified 6,303 non-citizens who had been identified and removed from Virginia’s voting rolls between January 2022 and July 2024. 6303.
6,303.
That’s the number of noncitizens identified and removed from Virginia’s voting rolls under our watch.
I’m proud of my office’s work to help ensure election integrity. https://t.co/ZX1W9SUBvU
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) August 7, 2024
The five-page order, titled “Comprehensive Election Security Protecting Legal Voters and Accurate Counting,” references the SAVE Act, sets forth the importance of the initiative, and directs the Commissioner of the Department of Elections to certify annually in writing to the governor that certain election security procedures are in place as well as the accuracy of voter lists. It further directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to generate a daily file of all non-citizen transactions and refer false claims of citizenship to the local Commonwealth attorney for prosecution. Further, the order directs the Department of Elections and all state agencies that register voters to prominently post and display pertinent code sections regarding election-related offenses.
Naysayers will undoubtedly argue that even if non-citizens are registered to vote (purely inadvertently, no doubt), that doesn’t mean that they actually are availing themselves of the process. Here’s the thing about that: While many, if not most, instances of non-citizen voter registration may be accidental rather than purposeful/deceitful, persons ineligible to vote should not be registered to vote in the first place and ensuring that they are not (or are removed from the voting rolls) will go a long way toward preventing illegal voting.
Additionally, as Youngkin’s order notes, recent improvements Virginia has implemented in its systems for identifying individuals who no longer reside in the state have resulted in the state removing 79,867 deceased voters from their rolls, as well. Kudos to Virginia and Governor Youngkin for doing their part to shore up election integrity.
