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Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., held a press conference Thursday addressing election integrity issues.
He was joined by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas in front of the United States Capitol to argue for the passage of the SAVE Act. The acronym stands for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.
“We want you to be an American citizen to vote in American elections,” Roy said. “This bill, the only thing it would do is prevent illegal aliens and noncitizens in elections.”
Roy also addressed allegations the SAVE Act takes away married women’s right to vote. Those who believe this to be true point to many who are married no longer having the same last name as on their birth certificate. But the bill allows any “REAL ID compliant” identification to qualify under its requirements. Most state drivers’ licenses are now REAL ID compliant.
The SAVE Act would require all applicants registering to vote to present a government ID to prove their citizenship. Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Oka., accused the Clinton administration of relaxing ID requirements which allowed people to “assert” they are citizens, rather than have to provide documentation. Brecheen said that it’s time to return to a system that requires proof.
“America is an outlier on this 46 out of 47 countries require proof before you can vote,” he claimed.
Founder of the election integrity network, Cleta Mitchell, and famed conservative activist Pastor Lorenzo Sewell also spoke. Mitchell decried inaction in shoring up the security of America’s voting process, saying, “We need to save our elections so we can save our country.”
Behind the podium – on the front of which a sign read “Election Integrity = Civil Rights” – were surrogates from states such as Georgia and Michigan. It is in those states, many still say, there were election irregularities in 2020, when the United States shifted to a fraught mass mail-in ballot system due to the coronavirus pandemic.
These instances are only the latest in a decades-long erosion in trust in America’s elections. In 2000, a Gallup poll found that more Americans thought then-President Elect George W. Bush won that year’s race illegitimately rather than legitimately. That came after a hotly contested race in Florida over punch hole ballots was decided by the Supreme Court in favor of Bush.
The SAVE Act, introduced by Mike Johnson, aims to prevent illegal immigrants from voting in federal elections. This act implicitly acknowledges that illegal immigrants have been participating in the voting process
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— Jake (@JakeCan72) May 8, 2024
Passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act should be common sense: if you’re not an American citizen, you don’t get to vote. The fact that most Democrats oppose it reveals an uncomfortable truth about their motives on immigration policy. pic.twitter.com/VCpHX5BgG9
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) July 11, 2024
