A House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Tuesday fueled concerns about noncitizens registering to vote in key battleground states, with Republican lawmakers and witnesses advocating for stricter voter registration laws to prevent such occurrences.
Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd testified that his state has removed approximately one million individuals from its voter rolls since 2022, including a portion who were noncitizens. Byrd emphasized that the issue of noncitizen voting is a legitimate concern, rather than a manufactured one.
Rosemary Jenks, a representative from the Immigration Accountability Project, highlighted vulnerabilities in federal law that could be exploited by noncitizens or those seeking to register them. She pointed to the 1993 National Voter Registration Act and the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which she claimed have made it difficult to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote.
Jenks noted that all 50 states issue driver’s licenses to noncitizens with legal status, and some may eventually obtain Social Security numbers. She criticized the Biden administration for issuing work authorization documents and Social Security numbers to noncitizens, which she believes could facilitate voter registration.
Ranking member Mary Scanlon (D-PA) was the sole Democrat on the subcommittee to participate in the hearing, and she dismissed the issue of noncitizen voting as a “propaganda campaign” and a “lie.” She argued that instances of noncitizens voting are extremely rare and that Republicans are raising the issue to lay the groundwork for challenging the 2024 election results if they lose.
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) countered that the rarity of noncitizen voting should not be a reason to ignore the issue, and he questioned why Democrats are not taking steps to prevent it. This comes as many House Republicans are pushing to include the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act in a short-term spending bill, which would require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote.
Cleta Mitchell, a conservative lawyer, presented a counterpoint to Democrats who argue that noncitizen voting is rare and already illegal. She compared the issue to the large number of undocumented immigrants entering the country, which she believes is also a serious problem. Mitchell also suggested that some Democrats may be reluctant to address noncitizen voting because they see noncitizens as a potential future voting base.
