Estimates for the total number of illegal immigrants living in the United States range from 11 million to 18 million, with Democrats often pushing the former number and Republicans the latter. For the sake of argument, let’s say the Center for Immigration Studies’s March study is correct, and the number is approximately 16 million.
With such a massive noncitizen population, it is obvious that serious steps should be taken to ensure that only citizens vote. To oppose such a move is strong evidence of bad faith and nefarious purpose.
The Republican majority in the House sought to take such a step last week by passing a Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act 220-208, with four Democrats joining the GOP. If enacted, it would require proof of U.S. citizenship upon registering to vote and oblige states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) summed up the unassailable logic of the law in remarks after the vote. “I do not support noncitizens voting in American elections — and that’s common sense to folks in southwest Washington,” Perez said. “Voting in our nation’s elections is a sacred right belonging only to American citizens, and my vote for the SAVE Act reflects that principle.”
In addition to requiring proof of citizenship, which can come in the form of a Real ID, passport, or birth certificate, the bill would mandate in-person voter registration, the establishment of state verification programs, and strict penalties for noncompliance. Election officials who register voters without seeing proper citizenship documentation could face up to five years in prison.
The SAVE Act is a step toward restoring trust in elections and in institutional fairness more broadly. A Morning Consult poll released two months before the 2024 elections found that only 37% of the public believed the election would be “honest and open to rightful voters.” This is a pitifully low level of faith in democracy among citizens in a country that prides itself on being the world’s foremost democratic nation. The finding demonstrates that restoring faith in elections is urgent.
The SAVE Act aligns the United States with other democracies. In Canada, Australia, and Germany, strict citizenship mandates ensure that only citizens choose the government. The U.S. should match that standard and be at the forefront of election integrity.
Critics argue that citizenship mandates disenfranchise minority voters, but this is casuistry, and the opposite is true. Far from silencing minority voters, the SAVE Act would ensure that minority citizens’ priorities aren’t drowned out by noncitizens. This is especially crucial in cities that have been overrun by illegal immigration in recent years.
Many have argued that racial minority voters more often lack access to the required identification documents than their white counterparts do. This is the soft bigotry of low expectations. Voters of all races value free and fair elections and are able to obtain the proper documents necessary to register. Everyone should be encouraged to do what is necessary to participate. A one-time proof of citizenship is hardly burdensome.
There are also people attempting to turn the debate into a divisive gender issue. Women who changed their names after being married, it has been suggested, would face undue burdens to register. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made that case last Wednesday on X, saying melodramatically, “Call your rep — this is not a drill.” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) echoed Clinton on X, writing, “SAVE Act blocks nearly 70 million women from registering to vote — just because they changed their name after marriage.”
But this is pure nonsense. The bill explicitly requires states to create a process for voters with name discrepancies to provide additional evidence of citizenship, such as a marriage license or court order. Besides, women already navigate name changes for Social Security, driver’s licenses, and bank accounts, often with those same documents.
SOCIAL SECURITY TO PUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ON ‘DEAD LIST’
Women who must prove citizenship to gain employment have been perfectly capable of completing their I-9s for new employers.
Women and minority voters deserve to know their votes matter and that elections are fair and free — just like everyone else. The SAVE Act ensures that they do.
