Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order on Tuesday directing the secretary of state to “take all necessary steps” to ensure only citizens can register to vote.
The Only Citizens Will Vote Act will “protect election integrity, voter confidence, and the sanctity of voting.”
“Idaho already has the most secure elections in the nation, and we’re going to keep it that way. My executive order – the ONLY CITIZENS WILL VOTE Act – directs Secretary of State Phil McGrane to work with local county clerks to scrub our voter rolls and make sure Idaho's elections do not fall prey to the consequences of Biden's lawless open border,” Little said in a statement.
The executive order directs the Secretary of State to ensure there are processes set up to validate voter registrations, review the state’s voter rolls, and coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security to verify citizenship status. State agencies are also prohibited under the order to provide noncitizens with voter registration materials.
“Across Idaho’s 44 counties, we have excellent mechanisms in place already to ensure non-citizens do not vote in Idaho, but there is always more we can do to make sure only citizens will vote. I am proud to work closely with Governor Brad Little to put in place a plan that keeps Idaho ahead of the pack in election integrity,” Secretary McGrane said.
The order comes after the Biden administration on Monday said it "strongly opposes" the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.
"It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in Federal elections—it is a Federal crime punishable by prison and fines," the statement said. "The alleged justification for this bill is based on easily disproven falsehoods. Additionally, making a false claim of citizenship or unlawfully voting in an election is punishable by removal from the United States and a permanent bar to admission. States already have effective safeguards in place to verify voters’ eligibility and maintain the accuracy of voter rolls. This bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls. The evidence is clear that the current laws to prevent noncitizen voting are working as intended—it is extraordinarily rare for noncitizens to break the law by voting in Federal elections."
The statement continued, "The President has been clear: he will continue fighting to protect Americans’ sacred right to vote in free, fair, and secure elections, including by calling on Congress to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. If House Republicans really want to do something about securing our border and fixing our broken immigration system, they should vote on the border deal that the President negotiated with a bipartisan group of Senators—this would provide immigration officials the resources they need to do their jobs and be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border that we have seen in decades."