These days, President Joe Biden is getting advice from multiple sources. Judging by his reactions to the recommendations, Biden is his own counsel. But many wonder why the president would come out so vocally in opposition to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The White House released a statement which confirmed that Biden “strongly opposes” SAVE which would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as Motor-Voter. The amendment would require people to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. First, the Senate hasn’t voted on SAVE yet so Biden doesn’t need to tip his hand, although the logical conclusion is that he would veto it. Moreover, Biden doesn’t need to appeal to voters that agree with him on a SAVE Act veto; they’re reliably in his back pocket. On the other hand, independent voters and Biden skeptics will wonder why presenting valid ID should be problematic. Showing ID is a routine part of everyday life—at the bank, at the supermarket, and at the airport. States offer a variety of options. In lieu of a driver’s license, birth certificates, state-IDs, passports, or, if the applicant has served, military IDs with photos are acceptable.
One explanation for opposing SAVE is that it presents a deterrent to cheating—illegal alien voting. Five Democrats—Texas’ Henry Cuellar, North Carolina’s Don Davis, Maine’s Jared Golden, Texas’ Vicente Gonzalez Jr., and Washington’s Marie Gluesenkamp Perez—joined with the 221 GOP reps to pass SAVE in the House. The White House insists that noncitizens who vote in Federal elections already commit a federal crime punishable by prison sentences and fines. Making a false claim of citizenship or unlawfully voting in an election is also punishable by removal from the United States and a permanent bar to re-admission. SAVE’s author, Texas Republican Chip Roy countered on X [Emphasis Roy’s]: “Federal law currently PROHIBITS states from verifying citizenship status during registration for federal elections. The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship to register and would remove non-citizens from voter rolls. What are Democrats fearful of? This is basic stuff, you would think …”
The typical legal voter does not know or understand the fundamentals of his state’s election laws since they are unimportant to him—he’s obeying the law. But as Roy said, asking for ID is “basic stuff.” No current mechanism exists that ensures only those registering or voting are citizens, no procedure is in place to make sure that his registration information is correct. States do not have the election infrastructure in place to confirm the information that the registrant provides. If an ill-intended actor wants to interfere in the nation’s elections, they simply must check a box on a form and sign their name. Nothing else. Only the smallest chance exists that poll supervisors would catch the illegal alien in the act of voting. If caught, he would go unpunished.
The potential for fraud is enormous. Adding the millions of illegal aliens that Biden has admitted to the millions already residing in the U.S. when he stepped into the White House, the total illegally present population reaches sixteen million and is increasing daily. Moreover, many illegal aliens have already been granted privileges, once exclusive to citizens. Sixteen states issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens including crucial swing states Nevada, New Mexico, and Virginia. Licenses granted to illegal aliens offer more opportunities to defraud the voting rules.
The SAVE Act provides states with access to existing federal data bases—the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database and the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS)— to assist states in removing noncitizens from voter rolls. As a bonus, SAVE creates the private right of action for citizens to bring civil suits against election officials that fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements.
If, as the SAVE Act’s detractors contend, it’s already illegal for non-citizens to vote, passing it an extra layer of voter integrity protection without further jeopardizing fraudsters.