The past several weeks have seen an extended debate in Congress, and among the American people, regarding the SAVE America Act. I understand the public’s desire to make our elections more secure. But doing so will require efforts more robust than enacting statutory changes via the SAVE America Act. Truly secure elections will require amending the United States Constitution itself.
If enacted, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act would require voters to provide proof of citizenship at the time they register to vote, and photo identification when they do vote. Enshrining these requirements in federal law would help prevent noncitizens from voting – but only up to a point.
The SAVE America Act presumes that only American citizens should vote in federal elections. According to polling, 90% of Americans think that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in federal elections. And most Americans assume that the Constitution requires that voters be citizens of the United States. However, it does not.
The Constitution actually leaves voter eligibility up to the states and ties voter eligibility for state legislative elections to voter eligibility for congressional elections. In Article 1, Section 2 and the 17th Amendment, the Constitution says that whomever a state lets vote for their state’s most numerous legislative body is also instantly eligible to vote for Congress.
No state has allowed non-citizens to vote in their state legislative elections – but they could. Unless the state’s constitution reserves voting for citizens only, a state could let noncitizens legally vote for their legislature and Congress.
Already, jurisdictions in several states have authorized non-citizens to vote in local elections and several states have seen attempts to let non-citizens vote in state elections. The number of cities and states allowing non-citizen voting in local elections is rapidly increasing. Right now, non-citizens can legally vote in Washington, D.C. Nothing is too far-fetched. It is only a matter of time before a state opens up all of their elections to people who are not citizens of this country.
Thankfully, Florida Rep. Laurel Lee recently introduced a constitutional amendment regarding citizen voting. Her legislation, House Joint Resolution 152, is already picking up co-sponsors and could receive hearings in Congress in the coming weeks.
Like the Constitution itself, Lee’s proposed amendment is simple: a mere three sentences taking up less than half a page. But it would clarify that “only citizens of the United States may qualify to vote in any primary or other election for” president, vice president, and senators and representatives in Congress. This type of language –and only this type of language – in our nation’s governing document would definitively restrict the franchise to American citizens.
My support for a citizen-only amendment does not stem from any animus toward those not born in the United States. Indeed, I was born in Brazil myself, and came to the States with my mother in the fall of 1988. Having gone through the process of obtaining my American citizenship, I can tell you how much I revere this country and what it stands for. I welcome others who wish to join our nation, but I want to ensure that only those who have taken the oath of allegiance to the United States can vote for those who make our laws. That’s what the citizen-only amendment will do.
This constitutional amendment will bolster our democracy not just through the policy it would enact, but also through the means of its enactment. Rep. Lee’s resolution specifies that the amendment regarding citizen voting will get added to our Constitution “when ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the several states.” Special conventions in each state, rather than the legislature, will decide whether to ratify the amendment, meaning that the citizenry of each state will have a direct voice in the process, via elections to the special conventions.
The debate over the SAVE America Act has drawn needed attention to the best ways to make our elections secure – now and in the future. While I understand the issues that the SAVE America Act intends to address, I believe that Congress can best prevent foreign interference in our elections by passing Rep. Lee’s constitutional amendment on citizen voting, H.J.Res. 152.
