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By Tom Norton
Fact Check Reporter
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House Speaker Mike Johnson has claimed that Democrats are trying to ensure that undocumented migrants will be able to vote in the American elections, despite existing safeguard and legislation that prohibits this.
Johnson and a score of other Republicans took to social media this week suggesting that their House opponents planned to block the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require those registering to vote to provide documentary proof of United States citizenship.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, in a post viewed over 39 million times, Johnson claimed that Democrats were determined to oppose the changes.
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"Why are Democrats so adamantly against ensuring only American citizens vote in our elections?" Johnson said.
"They want to turn illegal aliens into voters. We must pass the SAVE Act to prevent this."
The bill has been cosponsored by 104 Republican representatives. However, it has been criticized for exaggerating the scale of noncitizen voting and making it more difficult for eligible citizens to register to vote.
What Does the SAVE Act Propose?
The bill, which was introduced in the House on July 5, would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections, prohibiting states from accepting or processing applications without it.
It would also require states to establish programs "to identify individuals who are not U.S. citizens using information supplied by specified sources" and remove them from official lists of eligible voters.
Accepted forms of identification include a passport, a valid government-issued photo identification card—issued by a Federal, State or Tribal government—showing that the applicant's place of birth was in the U.S., and a military identification card with a U.S. military record of service showing that the applicant's place of birth was in the U.S.
Other valid government-issued photo identification cards can be used but only if presented with other documentation such as a certified birth certificate.
Johnson claims "there is no mechanism to ensure only those registering or voting are actually citizens." While this may infer that current provisions are not sufficiently stringent, there are already widespread voter identification processes and penalties for those who falsely claim eligibility.
Voter Identification Already in Place
The National Conference of State Legislatures says that 36 states already require identification to vote, while the 14 other states and D.C. have "nondocumentary" ID requirements which require voters to verify their identity in other ways—including signing an affidavit or polling book or providing personal information.
The affidavit asserts that they are voting in the knowledge that falsely claiming eligibility is a criminal offense. They may also be required to provide a signature or biographical information such as names, addresses and full or partial birth dates.
Some states with nondocumentary requirements may also be verified by election officials, such as by comparing signatures with those on voter registration forms.
All states can challenge eligibility. Of the 14 nondocumentary identification states, 12 have statutory requirements that election officials make verification efforts.
The picture is slightly different at a state and local level; California, Maryland and Vermont allow noncitizens to vote in some or all local elections, as reported by Ballotpedia.
However, the SAVE Act is purely targeted at federal elections.
Penalties for falsely claiming eligibility include fines, prison sentences and deportation for undocumented migrants.
How Widespread Is Noncitizen Voting?
Republicans have said that illegal immigrants and noncitizens are improperly registering to vote, but the scale of the issue has been challenged.
While some migrants, through humanitarian parole programs, may qualify for driver's licenses and benefits, it is still illegal for them to vote even if they are provided forms. The provision of a form is not a tacit approval to vote. Some of Johnson's and similar claims about noncitizen voting have been debunked by PolitiFact, CNN, The Washington Post, and Reuters.
The number of reported cases of noncitizen voting is thought to be small. Research published by the Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 found that across 42 jurisdictions, among 23.5 million votes tabulated in the 2016 general elections, there were 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting—or around 0.0001 percent.
The White House echoed these findings in a statement released on Monday, stating "that the current laws to prevent noncitizen voting are working as intended—it is extraordinarily rare for noncitizens to break the law by voting in federal elections."
A spokesperson for the House Speaker referred to a 2014 study based on 2008 and 2010 data from the Cooperative Election Study, which estimated that 6.4 percent of noncitizens voted in the 2008 general election and 2.2 percent in 2010.
"Noncitizen votes could have given Senate Democrats the pivotal 60th vote needed to overcome filibusters in order to pass health care reform and other Obama administration priorities in the 111th Congress," it said.
However, as highlighted by The Washington Post, the study was criticized for using too small a data set and using misclassified information. The study's author, the Post writes, stood by its findings but criticized claims that had been extrapolated to other contests, such as the 2020 election.
Johnson's spokesperson added, "Even if it were true that noncitizen voting is rare, that is not a reason to forego policymaking that would tighten enforcement against noncitizen voting.
"Your piece should make note that we have a Republican Member of Congress currently serving who won her election in 2020 by only six votes."
The seat referred to was for Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who won an open seat in the U.S. House for Iowa by six votes in 2020, the Associated Press reported at the time.
Are Democrats Blocking the Act?
The House is due to vote on the SAVE Act next week but, as reported by Axios, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark's office told House Democrats to vote against it, arguing that it would prevent Americans from registering with a driver's license alone and make passports the only "acceptable stand-alone form of identification."
A spokesperson for the House Speaker told Newsweek that a driver's license and U.S. birth certificate would be sufficient to prove identity.
"The license proves identity, and the birth certificate proves citizenship," they said.
"Second, on page 13 of the bill starting in line 15, there is also a process for persons who lack documents altogether to register."
A previous attempt to block noncitizen voting in D.C. elections in May passed the House, despite a Democrat whip, but stalled in the Senate.
Conservatives have made false claims elsewhere that Democrats are trying to provide undocumented migrants representation afforded to American citizens.
In May, former adviser to Donald Trump Stephen Miller, said that Democrats had given "illegals" new electoral representation by opposing a bill that would have changed how the House of Representatives is organized.
The bill in question required a Census question to count U.S. citizens and noncitizens, determining the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives.
The bill would use this data to exclude noncitizens from calculating House apportionment. However, noncitizens have been included in the Census since 1790 so Democrats have not given any representations or rights.
Update 7/10/24, 2:25 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comments from representatives for the House Speaker.
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