Former President Trump Applauds House Approval of SAVE Act; Biden Vows Veto

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Written By Michael Hack

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On Wednesday, House Republicans and a few Democrats passed a bill that aims to make it harder for people to vote in federal elections unless they can prove they are citizens. This bill also forces states to clean up their voter lists more frequently. Former President Trump has praised this bill.

The bill is called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. It passed the House with a 221-198 vote, including support from five Democrats. The bill now goes to the Senate, but it is very likely to be rejected because many Democrats are against it.

President Biden has promised to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

People who oppose the bill argue that making noncitizen voting illegal is unnecessary because it is already illegal. They believe this bill will more likely prevent U.S. citizens from voting rather than stop noncitizens from voting.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) spoke in favor of the bill, saying it is needed because noncitizens have been voting in U.S. elections even though it is illegal.

“Even though it’s already illegal, this is happening,” Johnson said.

In May, Johnson told reporters, “We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections. But it’s not been something that is easily provable. We don’t have that number. This legislation will allow us to do exactly that — it will prevent that from happening. And if someone tries to do it, it will now be unlawful within the states,” he added.

However, most researchers say Johnson’s belief is incorrect. A study by the Brennan Center for Justice found only 30 suspected cases of noncitizen voting out of 23.5 million votes.

The idea that noncitizens are voting and that Democrats are encouraging illegal immigrants to vote is the main reason for the bill.

Johnson brought the bill to the House floor to show unity with other Republicans and because it is a favorite issue of former President Trump.

In April, during a joint press conference with Trump, Johnson supported the idea of banning noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections. At that time, Johnson was trying to gain more support from Republican lawmakers because some were threatening to remove him from his position.

On Tuesday, Trump urged Republican lawmakers to pass the bill in a post on Truth Social, saying, “Republicans must pass the Save Act, or go home and cry yourself to sleep.”

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who introduced the bill in May, said, “Radical progressive Democrats know this and are using open border policies while also attacking election integrity laws to fundamentally remake America.”

Roy and Johnson have had disagreements in the past, especially over budget issues, but they agree on immigration matters.

In an opinion piece in May, Roy wrote that “radical progressive Democrats aren’t even trying to hide it anymore — they’re publicly admitting their intention to leverage open borders and the tens of millions of illegal aliens in the U.S. to fundamentally remake America by cementing one-party rule.”

Roy’s claim was based on a mistake President Biden made during a radio interview in May, where Biden seemed to refer to Hispanic immigrants as “voters.”

Roy also criticized Democrats for voting against a bill that would have changed how the census counts people, excluding non-U.S. citizens.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who moved to the U.S. from Peru when he was five years old, disagrees with Roy. Garcia said, “I think they believe in their own heads, that somehow immigrants are bad and you know, we’re terrible and we’re always going to do bad things, when we know that’s not true. We know the data actually shows that immigrants commit less crimes. That, you know, communities with lots of immigrants actually are safer.”

Advocates say the bill will make it harder for some U.S. citizens to register to vote and will remove more citizens than noncitizens from voter lists.

Juan Espinoza, a senior civil rights adviser at UnidosUS, said, “We’re seeing heightened threats against elections officials and voters at the polls, especially in places where Latinos are a growing and significant part of the eligible voting population.”

Espinoza added, “Harmful and false rhetoric of noncitizen voters also spreads disinformation that targets and undermines Latino voters. This bill is a dangerous political ploy being used to suppress the vote in communities of color and further undermine voting rights in this country.”

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