Tea Party Patriots Action (TPPA) just completed a three-week, 18-stop bus tour from California to Washington, D.C., to advocate for H.R. 22, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The message was simple: In a constitutional republic, the most fundamental guardrail of democratic self-government is ensuring that only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections. What we found on the bus tour was most educational – the American public is way ahead of the politicians on this issue.
Yet, remarkably, some politicians and advocacy groups, clearly burdened by their own partisan straitjackets, continue to insist that even asking for documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote is an unreasonable encumbrance.
That argument collapses when tested in the real world. At each stop on the tour – whether in San Antonio with Rep. Chip Roy, in Annapolis with Rep. Andy Harris, in Kenosha with Rep. Bryan Steil, in Scottsdale with Rep. Eli Crane, in Montgomery with Rep. Gary Palmer, in Greenville with Rep. William Timmons, in Harrisburg with Rep. Scott Perry, or in Raleigh with Rep. Mark Harris – we encountered citizens from across the political spectrum. Some of them came to the events skeptical, and some arrived outright opposed, persuaded by media narratives that the SAVE Act is unnecessary or exclusionary. But when they heard what the bill actually does – that it simply requires would-be voters to show proof of citizenship before being added to federal voter rolls – nearly all agreed the principle was common sense.
It is striking that this even needs to be debated. Non-citizens are already prohibited by federal law from voting in federal elections. Yet the current system relies largely on an honor code. Applicants merely check a box affirming their citizenship, but election officials in most states have little ability to verify the claim. In an era when identification is required for virtually every meaningful transaction, and even less meaningful transactions – in order to use the restroom in the state capitol building in Annapolis earlier this week, I was required to show identification to enter the building – the idea that asking for proof of citizenship to vote is somehow unreasonable is not serious. Are our restrooms more deserving of protection than our vote?
Opponents argue that the SAVE Act risks disenfranchising lawful voters who may not have easy access to documents. But that is a straw man. U.S. citizens already need proof of citizenship for passports, Social Security benefits, employment verification, and countless other functions. If anything, the SAVE Act would encourage states to help ensure that every citizen has access to the documents they already need to participate fully in civic and economic life.
The deeper resistance comes from partisans who benefit from keeping the system porous. A growing number of progressive jurisdictions have moved to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, from San Francisco to New York City (though courts have pushed back) to 15 separate localities in the state of Maryland, as I was reminded at our rally in Annapolis. The SAVE Act draws a clear line: federal elections are for citizens. If you want to participate in choosing the president, senators, and members of Congress, the minimum threshold is proving that you are, in fact, an American.
The bus tour underscored a key point the politicians would do well to understand: the public is far ahead of Washington on this issue. Polling consistently shows that overwhelming majorities – Republicans, Independents, and even most Democrats – believe only U.S. citizens should vote and that requiring proof of citizenship is reasonable. The small number of protesters who turned out at our bus tour events often changed their minds once they came to understand the legislation. That tells you the opposition isn’t rooted in principle, but in misinformation and partisan spin.
The SAVE Act also answers a basic need for election integrity in an era of declining trust. Roughly one in three Americans doubt our elections are fair. Confidence in the ballot box is the cornerstone of democratic legitimacy. Asking citizens to accept results without shoring up vulnerabilities is a recipe for further division. The SAVE Act is not a cure-all, but it is a necessary step.
Congress should treat this as the bipartisan, common-sense measure it is. Attaching the SAVE Act to must-pass legislation – whether an appropriations bill or the National Defense Authorization Act – is the most practical path to enactment. Protecting the franchise of citizens is not a partisan question. It is a constitutional imperative.
America has long welcomed immigrants, and the path to citizenship remains open to anyone willing to take the oath and embrace the responsibilities that come with it. But citizenship means something only if it carries exclusive privileges – chief among them, the right to vote.
The 18-stop TPPA bus tour showed what happens when ordinary Americans are confronted with the simple truth: safeguarding the ballot box is not an obstacle to democracy, but its precondition. Congress should pass the SAVE Act and affirm that in the United States, citizenship still matters.
Jenny Beth Martin is Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.
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