House Democratic leadership instructed members this week to reject a Republican bill that seeks to require proof of United States citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, Axios reported.
The GOP legislation—the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act—would require "documentary proof of United States citizenship" to vote in federal elections. In a whip question—a compilation of the week's votes with instructions for how leadership wants members to vote—House minority whip Katherine Clark (D., Mass.) ordered House Democrats to "VOTE NO" on the bill.
"As we've seen a number of times this Congress, House Republicans continue to irresponsibly call into question the credibility of our elections," the whip question reads. "Despite numerous recounts, challenges in court, and deep-dives by conservative think-tanks, there has been zero evidence of the widespread fraud that this bill purports to target."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), however, released a 22-page memo in support of the bill, which points to evidence that illegal immigrants have registered to vote in numerous states, including Massachusetts, Ohio, Virginia, Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
The push for stricter voter ID laws comes as the United States has seen an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants enter the country under the current administration.
Since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the United States has had a record number of illegal immigrants cross the southern border. Nationally, Customs and Border Patrol have recorded more than nine million encounters, not accounting for unknown "gotaways."
"Secure elections are a key cornerstone for any representative government; without them, we won't have a country," Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas), who introduced the bill, said in a May press release. "Radical progressive Democrats know this and are using open border policies while also attacking election integrity laws to fundamentally remake America."
Under the SAVE Act, states would be required to obtain proof of citizenship—such as a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization certificate—when registering an individual to vote and remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls.