Tipsheet

Here's How Many Dems Voted Against Bill That Would Prevent Non-Citizens From Voting

The House passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Wednesday, a measure that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote. 

Five Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill with 221 votes—Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Jared Golden (D-ME), Don Davis (D-NC) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA)—but 198 Democrats opposed the measure. 

“Today, 198 House Democrats voted against preventing illegal aliens from voting in American elections,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement. “Over the past four years, Joe Biden has welcomed millions upon millions of illegals into the country knowing that noncitizens only have to check a box to vote in a federal election.

“We have long known this was an intentional effort to turn them into voters, and now the American people know where every member of Congress stands on this critically important issue,” he added. “House Republicans believe that only Americans should vote in American elections. House Democrats have now proven they believe that illegal aliens should vote in American elections.”

Johnson, who released a report last month supporting the SAVE Act, said laws already on the books to prevent illegal immigrants from voting have not been effective. 

“We have so many non-citizens in the country right now that if only one out of 100 of those illegal aliens voted, you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of votes being cast,” Johnson said in a floor speech. 

While the measure now heads to the Senate, it is unlikely to pass, and even if it did, the White House has already come out strongly against the legislation.