Speaker Mike Johnson SLAMS 'Indefensible' Democrats For Not Backing Common Sense Election Integrity Bill

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has made it a priority to try to stop non-citizen voting in the upcoming presidential election, and he made his motivation clear in a Fox News op-ed published on Monday. The Republican leader pushed through the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act in the House earlier this year to mandate that proof of citizenship be a requirement for voter registration. The bill, however, has not been taken up by the Senate.

"There are few things more important to our country than ensuring the integrity of our elections. The people rightfully demand it, and Congress has a duty to act," Speaker Johnson wrote. "Yet, when given the opportunity to eliminate one of the most glaring threats to fair elections, 198 House Democrats voted instead to keep the door open to fraud."

Speaker Johnson laid out how illegal immigrants, in nearly every state, can fill out a federal voter registration form, claim, without evidence, that they are U.S. citizens, and then cast a ballot in a federal election. The Louisiana Republican explains that many of the migrants crossing the US-Mexico border are being processed by Customs and Border Protection agents and released into the country with few documents.

Rep. Johnson then explained the federal loophole that has allowed non-citizen voting to take place, the National Voter Registration Act. This federal legislation prevents state legislatures from requiring voters to present proof of citizenship when the registration form is signed.

"To close that dangerous loophole and help ensure that only Americans decide American elections, House Republicans drafted and passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act," Johnson wrote. "Our legislation makes several critically important reforms. It requires state election officials to request proof of citizenship for every person registering to vote and gives the state officials easy access to federal databases so they can confirm citizenship status."

The legislation, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), also mandates that state's clean up their voter rolls of any non-citizens and notify the Department of Homeland Security of any non-citizens who have registered to vote illegally and determine if they should be deported.

Democrat critics of the legislation have attempted to argue that the SAVE Act would hinder American citizens from being able to register to vote. However, Speaker Johnson took that issue head-on, explaining that citizens have several options to ensure they can get registered. "To ensure actual citizens can continue to easily register to vote, the bill allows state officials to accept a wide variety of documents for registrants to prove citizenship and requires states to establish an alternative process for Americans who have misplaced their documentation," Johnson explained.

Despite these common-sense reforms that Americans widely support, Democrats earlier this year voted unanimously against the bill, which Speaker Johnson argues is a sign that they want illegal immigrants to influence federal elections. "The Democrats’ opposition to this simple election integrity bill is indefensible and exposes their intention to allow illegal aliens to vote," he said. "Earlier this year, most of these same Democrats voted to count illegal aliens in the 2030 Census. They also voted to let non-citizens vote in local elections in Washington, D.C."

"As the sanctity of our elections now hangs in the balance, the SAVE Act is urgently needed. It is smart policy and overwhelmingly supported by the American people. Everyone who shares this common concern should insist that Senator Schumer bring this bill forward to pass in the Senate, and that President Biden then sign it into law. The stakes could not be any higher," Speaker Johnson concluded.

Read the full op-ed here.

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