This Friday, Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy introduced a bill to restrict the ability of non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
Although the law states that only U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections, some non-citizens have gone unnoticed and registered to vote. Because of this, and following the number of migrants arriving in the country, the Republican representative introduced the American Voter Protection Act, ensuring that only Americans cast votes in the country's elections.
The legislative proposal would provide individual states with tools to verify a voter's citizenship at registration. The bill would also require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide citizenship information if requested by the states.
The bill was co-sponsored by Republicans Matt Rosendale of Montana, Pete Sessions of Texas and Michael Burgess of Texas.
🚨New from Rep. Roy:
American citizens and American citizens ONLY should have the power to determine our Republic's future.
That's why Rep. Roy is leading the fight to protect US elections!https://t.co/4mivg32ppa
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) May 5, 2023
Non-citizen votes are becoming more and more common
An audit of Georgia state voter registrations revealed 1,634 non-citizens were registered to vote in 2022. In places like California and Vermont, it appears to be increasingly common for non-citizens to be allowed to vote in municipal elections.
An ordinance passed in December 2021 sought to allow non-citizens to vote in D.C. municipal elections by 2024. Although a judge later struck down the rule, the issue remains open in several areas of the country. Iowa has a vote planned on a constitutional amendment that could prohibit non-citizens of that state from participating in state and local elections.
