Q&A of the Day – SAVE Act - Combating Illegal Aliens w/IDs from Voting
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station page in the iHeart app.
Today’s entry: Submitted via Talkback: Hey, what about the illegal aliens that have a US driver's license and they can use that for an ID or is there other IDs that are required? They should have a checkbox on the driver's license. US citizen. If it's checked, they can vote. If it's not, they can't. Just saying.
Bottom Line: You’ve raised a really important point as we’ve discussed the push by Congressional Republicans to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act – which would require voters to provide ID in order vote in all elections. Increasingly sanctuary jurisdictions across the country have provided government issued IDs to those lacking permanent legal status within the United States. In total there are 19 states that have done and currently do this:
- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington
While this list is a who’s-who of blue state politics, you’ll notice it’s not exclusively blue states that done this. Utah is one of the more conservative states in the country, which makes this move particularly confounding. In addition to those states, you also have at least twenty large blue cities across the country, that have also taken to issuing municipal IDs to illegal aliens. Therefore, today’s question/point is on point.
While mandatory voter ID with a government issued ID would be effective in combating unlawful voting in most of the country, that reform alone wouldn’t solve the problem. That’s why the SAVE Act goes a bit further. Here’s a breakout of what’s in the Rick Scott and Chip Roy proposed legislation:
Require proof of U.S. citizenship:
States must not accept or process a federal voter registration application unless the applicant provides acceptable documentary proof of citizenship at the time of registration.
Acceptable documentation to prove U.S. citizenship:
- A valid U.S. passport
- An official U.S. military identification card, combined with a U.S. military record of service showing the applicant's place of birth was in the United States.
- A valid government-issued photo identification card (federal, state, or Tribal) showing the applicant's place of birth was in the United States.
- A valid form of photo identification (e.g., a standard driver's license) paired with additional evidence, such as: A birth certificate issued by a U.S. jurisdiction showing birth in the U.S., A Consular Report of Birth Abroad, A Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship, Other federal documents issued under the Immigration and Nationality Act proving citizenship
So that’s the key to the SAVE Act providing a meaningful boost to election integrity. It’s the combination of needing to prove U.S. citizenship in order to be able to lawfully register to vote, followed by the need to provide a valid ID when going to vote.
Of course, voter ID is nothing new for Floridians as our state has had mandatory photo ID to vote in place since 1998...however there is one aspect of the SAVE Act that would serve to strengthen Florida’s election integrity measures as well.
Florida requires that would-be voters check a box stating that they’re a legal U.S. citizen under the penalty of perjury. However, ... there’s not the explicit mandate of proof of citizenship to register.
Florida has made great progress in election integrity, especially since 2018, however, for those who those who still seek greater election integrity in Florida’s elections – the SAVE Act would serve that purpose too. The only states that are currently requiring all of what’s in the SAVE Act are Arizona, Louisiana, New Hampshire and Wyoming.