Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a coalition of 21 other state attorneys general in “strongly” urging congressional leaders to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
The SAVE Act “seeks to ensure that only U.S. citizens participate in federal elections” by amending the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of citizenship to register an individual to vote in federal elections.
Only American citizens should vote in American elections.@AGTennessee was proud to join @AGIowa’s 22-state coalition letter urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act.
We need a law with teeth to protect the integrity of our voter rolls. pic.twitter.com/752AKwB0XH
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) July 17, 2024
While the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week, the White House formally announced that President Joe Biden would veto the legislation if it passed the U.S. Senate and was sent to his desk.
Despite the Biden administration’s stance against the bill, the coalition of attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leadership urging the passage of the SAVE Act, arguing that the bill would“ensure election integrity.”
“President Biden’s immigration policies have been a disaster…President Biden’s immigration disaster now threatens the security of America’s elections. During this surge in illegal immigration, cities and States across the country have started allowing noncitizens to vote in their elections,” the attorneys general wrote to congressional leaders.
“Even only a few votes can make a large difference in a federal election. Recent elections for the House, Senate, and even president have been decided by just hundreds or thousands of votes…Given those narrow margins, the votes of illegal immigrants and other noncitizens—illegal votes—could decide control of Congress or even the White House…As law enforcement officers we strongly support efforts to prevent that from happening,” the coalition added.
The attorneys general said, “Americans deserve to have confidence in the security of our elections. The SAVE Act provides needed security by ensuring that only Americans participate in America’s elections. We strongly encourage you to pass the SAVE Act.”
The letter was sent to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA-04), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Jonathan Skrmetti” by Tennessee Attorney General. Background Photo “Voting Booth” by Tim Evanson. CC BY-SA 2.0.
