Politicians on the Left have spent years labeling everything President Donald Trump does or says as a vague “threat to democracy.” But the real threat to our democracy and system of self-rule is routinely ignored by the political class.
Speaking from the White House, the president outlined newly declassified intelligence, which reveals how exposed American elections have become to foreign adversaries and to votes cast by people illegally present in our country. He drew a distinction between two threats. On the global stage, he showed that China has acquired an estimated 220 million American voter files, a trove that includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and party preferences. That kind of information, in the hands of the communist Chinese government, becomes a ready-made map for targeting registration systems and undermining our election integrity.
Closer to home, the president pointed to a Department of Homeland Security review that reported roughly 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in federal elections. For years, we have heard that noncitizens were not registering to vote and that this concern was invalid. Now the evidence shows just how alarming the problem is.
In his speech, Trump correctly identified the SAVE America Act as our nation’s best chance to strengthen election integrity. The proposed law contains several provisions that enjoy overwhelming public support.
One provision requires that states obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship before registering a new voter. According to a survey conducted for Tea Party Patriots Action by McLaughlin & Associates in March of this year, voters support that provision by a better than 4-to-1 margin — 77% support it, while just 18% oppose it. The provision enjoys majority support across all partisan and ideological divisions.
A second provision requires voters to show photo identification when casting a ballot to verify their identity. That same survey shows voters support that provision by a better than 3-to-1 margin — 75% support it, while just 21% oppose it. Like the proof-of-citizenship requirement, the provision enjoys majority support across all partisan and ideological divisions.
These two provisions would go a long way to preventing illegal voting by noncitizens.
Despite the fact that the majority of their own party’s voters support both proof of citizenship to register and voter ID to vote, Senate Democrats are nevertheless determined to block enactment of the SAVE America Act. They have voted against its provisions at every opportunity and have made clear they will block the bill procedurally for the rest of the Congress.
Faced with this Democrat obstruction, Republican leaders have chosen to take key elements of the law, including the proof-of-citizenship provision and the voter ID provision, and pass them through both houses of Congress via a reconciliation bill, a special procedure that would allow them to pass the bill without needing to overcome a filibuster in the Senate.
Using reconciliation to move these election safeguards is a serious step, and it reflects how strongly Republican leaders in Congress believe the country needs them. Getting proof of citizenship and voter ID through the reconciliation process will take discipline and unity, and it is a reminder that Americans should be calling their elected officials to let them know that Trump’s speech demands immediate action.
REPUBLICANS CAN SAVE ELECTIONS AND DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD. SO WHY AREN’T THEY?
In my travels across dozens of states, I hear the same two questions everywhere I go. People are always incredulous that this weakness exists and that Congress has not addressed it. How is it that a nation as great as ours has these vulnerabilities in its election system? And why is it taking Congress so long to pass the SAVE America Act? Americans are waiting and watching to see how each member votes.
The budget resolution will be on the House floor this week, and the momentum is building. Congress now holds an opportunity that rarely comes along, and the country is paying close attention to what it does with it. Congress can finally address this lingering threat to our democracy.
Jenny Beth Martin is Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.