Sen. Mike Lee is renewing his demand for Congress to pass legislation requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections after an investigation found that more than 30,000 self-identified noncitizens have been mistakenly added to voter rolls across the country since 2000.
The Utah Republican pointed to the findings while urging senators to pass the SAVE America Act, legislation that would impose new citizenship-verification requirements for federal voter registration and require identification when casting a ballot.
Lee argued on the Senate floor that existing federal prohibitions against noncitizen voting are difficult to enforce because voter-registration systems generally rely on applicants attesting that they are U.S. citizens rather than requiring documentary proof.
“That thing that they claim never happens, voter fraud or noncitizen voting, just keeps happening over and over and over again,” Lee said.
He also used a more colorful comparison to make his case.
“It should not be any easier for someone to get away with voter fraud at a polling location on voting day than it is to cheat Olive Garden through its never-ending pasta pass,” Lee said.
The renewed debate follows a Reuters investigation into voter-registration records around the country.
Reuters identified more than 30,000 instances since 2000 in which people who identified themselves as noncitizens were nevertheless added to voter rolls.
The cases were identified in California, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
The investigation found that the registrations appeared largely attributable to administrative mistakes, including software problems and clerical errors associated with motor-vehicle agencies and automatic voter-registration systems.
Reuters said its findings pointed to inadvertent bureaucratic failures rather than evidence of an organized effort to illegally register noncitizens.
The number is also small compared with the more than 170 million registered voters nationwide.
Another important distinction involves whether those mistakenly registered actually cast ballots.
Reuters could not determine how many of the more than 30,000 people voted.
Recent information from New Jersey illustrates the difference between improper registration and illegal voting. State officials identified approximately 6,600 noncitizens who had been mistakenly registered, but fewer than 400 were found to have cast ballots.
Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.
Lee argues that the Reuters findings demonstrate that the existing prohibition is insufficient because election officials often have no documentary evidence establishing an applicant’s citizenship.
His SAVE America Act would change that.
The legislation would require applicants registering for federal elections to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.
Acceptable documents could include a U.S. passport, certain forms of government identification showing citizenship, a birth certificate combined with an approved photo ID, a naturalization certificate or other federally recognized citizenship documents.
The legislation would also require states to conduct regular reviews intended to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
In addition, voters would generally be required to present government-issued photo identification when casting a ballot.
The proposal builds on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, commonly known as the SAVE Act, which Republicans pushed during the previous Congress.
Lee and Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas introduced the expanded SAVE America Act in January.
The measure has received strong support from President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, who argue that documentary citizenship verification is a straightforward safeguard for federal elections.
Supporters say the Reuters investigation reinforces their argument that simply asking applicants to certify their citizenship does not prevent registration errors.
Supporters also noted that the legislation includes multiple methods of establishing citizenship and procedures for applicants who cannot immediately produce standard documents.
The issue is receiving additional attention as the Trump administration conducts a much broader examination of state voter rolls ahead of the November midterms.
The Department of Homeland Security has obtained voter-registration information from at least 47 states as part of an effort to identify potential noncitizens on the rolls, Reuters reported.
Hundreds of federal personnel have been involved in reviewing the records under an initiative focused on unlawful voting.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
