In an article critical of the Republican-backed Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which demands proof of citizenship for voting, the Associated Press (AP) conceded that foreign nationals have been discovered “illegally registering and even voting.” Yet, Democrats and their media allies, who benefit from lenient election laws, continue to oppose such measures, including the SAVE Act.
“The issue of immigrants voting illegally in the U.S. has become a prominent election-year topic for Republicans. They contend that legislation is essential to preserve the vote’s integrity as the nation deals with unprecedented levels of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border,” AP’s Ali Swenson wrote.
“Voting by non-U.S. citizens is already illegal in federal elections, and there is no evidence of it happening in significant numbers,” Swenson stated. However, nine paragraphs later, she admitted that “there have been cases over the years of noncitizens illegally registering and even voting.”
Swenson downplayed these incidents, claiming states have “mechanisms to catch” such illegal voting. However, the federal government has blocked states from mandating documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections.
Federal voter registration forms do not require documentary proof of citizenship. Instead, individuals merely check a box affirming their U.S. citizenship, essentially relying on an honor system.
Why are Democrats against an additional “mechanism” to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote if current “mechanisms” have failed to stop this from happening?
Swenson argued, “Democrats fear that adding more ID requirements could disenfranchise eligible voters who don’t have their birth certificates or Social Security cards accessible.” Yet, she also mentioned, citing a left-wing activist, that people who register to vote provide some form of ID, such as a “Social Security number, driver’s license, or state ID.”
“That implies they have already shown the government proof of citizenship to obtain those documents, or if they are noncitizens with a state ID or Social Security number, their status is clearly classified in state records,” Swenson wrote. So, if these eligible voters already have documentary proof of citizenship from obtaining such IDs, how would requiring it for voter registration result in “disenfranchisement”?
The real reason leftists oppose the SAVE Act — and similar election integrity reforms — is that Democrats and their ballot-trafficking operations benefit from weak election security.
When Georgia Republicans passed an election integrity measure in 2022, Democrats — including President Joe Biden — compared it to “Jim Crow 2.0.” They argued that the law requiring voter ID for absentee voting was racist, claiming it would disenfranchise black voters who supposedly couldn’t obtain IDs.
However, this disenfranchisement never materialized. The state reported record-breaking turnout in the 2022 primaries, with about 800,000 Georgians casting early votes. This was three times the number of early votes cast in 2018 and exceeded the 2020 numbers, as reported by The Washington Post. In the general election that fall, 0 percent of black voters reported a “poor” voting experience to pollsters.
Democrats had to oppose the legislation because strong election integrity laws complicate their ballot strategies. Their opposition to proof-of-citizenship laws like the SAVE Act is equally self-serving.
