Election bill unneeded and intimidating, voting rights advocates say

Washington — Congressional Republicans joined by some Democrats this week passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. 

During a media briefing Wednesday, voting and immigration rights advocates addressed concerns about the bill and false claims regarding noncitizens voting in state and federal elections.  

“The reality is that states have multiple systems in place to deter noncitizen voting,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights program at the Brennan Center for Justice. 

Morales-Doyle said voting by noncitizens is “exceedingly” rare. 

“It is already a crime many times over for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. It's a state crime to register as a noncitizen. It's a federal crime to register as a noncitizen. It’s a state crime to vote as a noncitizen. It's a federal crime to vote as a noncitizen. There are severe penalties for those who violate these laws, they face prison time, they face deportation,” he said. 

The Brennan Center for Justice, part of the New York University School of Law, is a member of a broad coalition that tracks election-related disinformation. One of the biggest myths, the center said in April, is that noncitizens are voting.  

“Yes, people do things that are illegal sometimes, but they take into account the payoff and the consequences. And here, the payoff is minimal. It's the ability to cast one vote and in one election, or maybe even just to put your name on the rolls. And the consequences are extreme and severe. They include deportation, prison time, large fines, it just does not make any sense for someone to attempt this crime,” Morales-Doyle said. 

In 2017, the Brennan Center reviewed 42 jurisdictions, encompassing 23.5 million votes from the 2016 presidential election, and identified only 30 possible incidents of noncitizen voting, or 0.0001% of the votes cast.  

Citizen-only voting movement  

In calling for the SAVE Act, Republicans partially rely on a discredited 2014 study that claimed noncitizen voting could influence congressional and presidential elections. The growing citizen-only voting movement combines election fraud concerns and illegal immigration, both key issues for Republicans this presidential election.  

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, maintains a database of election fraud cases showing 21 cases since 2003. The cases are detailed, including any criminal penalties paid. 

The conversation about noncitizen voting grew in 2020 when House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans began advocating for the SAVE Act. 

Johnson often cites data indicating that noncitizens are registered to vote in some municipalities, including New York City, Washington, Takoma Park, Maryland, and Montpelier, Vermont. These cities allow noncitizen residents to register and vote only in certain local elections. 

In 2023, Takoma Park commemorated the 30th anniversary of the first noncitizen residents voting. An initiative, passed in 1992 by the Takoma Park City Council, gave immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, the right to vote in city elections for mayor and city council if they live within the city limits, are not registered to vote elsewhere, and are at least 16 years old.   

Johnson said the SAVE Act would require Americans to show proof of citizenship to register to vote. In practice, this means that voters would have to produce one of several documents listed in the act. 

“It's clear that our election process is worth protecting. It is our responsibility as members of Congress and concerned leaders of citizens groups and organizations who care about the integrity of our system and our elections,” Johnson said in a statement.  

Critics argue the SAVE Act could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters who lack immediate access to citizenship documents, particularly the poor, women, and people of color. 

A survey in January by the Center for Civic Democracy and Engagement at the University of Maryland shows that more than 9% of American citizens of voting age, or 21.3 million people, don’t have proof of citizenship readily available.   

“There are myriad reasons for this — the documents might be in the home of another family member or in a safety deposit box. And at least 3.8 million don’t have these documents at all, often because they were lost, destroyed, or stolen,” according to the study.  

The SAVE Act includes a process for those without proof of citizenship readily available. 

The bill mandates that states create a process allowing citizens who lack proof of citizenship to submit alternative documentation and sign a document, under penalty of perjury, affirming their U.S. citizenship and eligibility to vote in federal elections, which mirrors the existing voter registration process but imposes additional administrative burdens on election officials.  

"So, what does that mean to provide proof that you're a citizen, if you don't have documentary proof that you're a citizen? I just don't know. So, it's, there's the vagueness there that is problematic. I don't know what process they're contemplating or what that's going to look like,” Morales-Doyle said.  

The act also establishes criminal penalties for election officials who mistakenly register noncitizens. 

“So, no matter what that alternative path ends up looking like … you're hanging the threat of criminal prosecution over the head of any election official that allows someone to go into that alternative route,” Morales-Doyle said.  

The House voted 221-198 to approval the SAVE Act. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it is likely to be rejected.