As the November election draws near, a contentious debate over election integrity is unfolding in Washington, with Republicans seeking to attach a bill to a must-pass government spending measure that would restrict noncitizen voting in federal elections. The move is likely to spark a partisan showdown, with Democrats vehemently opposing the proposal and Republicans poised to use their resistance to fuel claims of a stolen election.
The House is set to vote on a six-month continuing resolution that would extend current spending levels until late March, but Republicans are pushing to include the SAVE Act, a bill authored by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) that would prohibit noncitizens from voting in federal elections. Democrats have come out strongly against the proposal, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) labeling it a “partisan and extreme continuing resolution” that is “unserious and unacceptable.”
The White House has also weighed in, with President Joe Biden threatening to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk. The opposition is not surprising, given the contentious nature of the issue. Former President Donald Trump, who has long claimed that Democrats are vulnerable to election manipulation, has been a driving force behind the SAVE Act, working closely with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to craft the legislation.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that “potentially hundreds of thousands of votes” will be cast by illegal immigrants in November, despite federal law requiring voter registration forms to compel voters to swear under penalty of perjury that they are citizens of the United States. Additionally, individuals must provide proof of a driver’s license or Social Security number for election officials to verify their identity in U.S. databases.
Some Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), have downplayed Trump’s comments on election integrity, framing them as a concern about voter ID. However, Democrats see the proposal as a “scare tactic” designed to fuel unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.
As the debate intensifies, Trump and his allies are preparing to use Democratic opposition to the SAVE Act to lay the groundwork for claims of a stolen election. Trump lawyer Alina Habba told Fox News on Sunday that the former president’s team is deploying lawyers to “help back the Constitution and the right to vote” in each state.
The issue has also sparked tension within Trump’s own base, with some of his most ardent supporters expressing frustration over his recent admission that he lost the 2020 election “by a whisker.” Trump has continued to claim that Democrats cheat and steal votes, even threatening to prosecute election officials if he wins in November.
The Harris campaign has denounced Trump’s comments as “openly laying out how he will try to rule as a dictator on day one to go after his political enemies.” The debate is likely to continue to escalate as the November election approaches, with both sides dug in on the issue of election integrity.
