Maria Bartiromo, host of Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria, challenged Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) over the SAVE America Act, saying, “What’s the problem? Get your birth certificate.”
“That’s the law, you can’t vote if you’re not an American citizen. Yes, get your birth certificate. Yes, that’s exactly right.” Bartiromo said.
The SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections, has passed the House, but it is stalled in the Senate, where there are not enough Republican votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster. Later versions of the legislation include a voter ID requirement and require in-person voting, except for illness, disability, military service, or travel.
Khanna defended current voter verification practices and warned against imposing new documentation requirements on eligible voters.
“People have been fearmongering that when that’s not an issue in the election, and the reality is, in the cases of some people who are married, that you want them, if they’ve changed their name, to go and have to prove that, with their birth certificate, to a register,” Khanna said.
Bartiromo argued that requiring proof of citizenship is a commonsense safeguard to protect election integrity, contending that voters should be prepared to verify their citizenship status. Drawing from her own experience of obtaining her birth certificate, Bartiromo stated that securing the necessary documentation is neither burdensome nor unreasonable.
“I wanted a copy of my birth certificate. I went online and got the birth certificate. It took a week, no problem,” Bartiromo said.
Khanna countered that while noncitizen voting is already illegal and should be met with severe penalties, lawmakers should focus on enforcing existing laws rather than creating new hurdles for eligible voters.
“I don’t think people should have to go get their birth certificate to go to the registrar. We have a system that allows people to vote if they are citizens,” Khanna said. “If you’re not a citizen and you vote, you should have enormous penalties, consequences. I’m for making sure you criminally prosecute people who are voting illegally.”
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Khanna emphasized that requiring every American to produce additional paperwork could place unnecessary burdens on citizens who are already eligible to vote, saying, “instead of putting the burden on American citizens, why don’t we just make clear that we’re enforcing the law?”
“That’s the only way to do it, you have to have a citizenship proof, that’s the only way to do it. It’s not on the backs of Americans. It’s your responsibility to ensure that you’re doing it lawfully,” Bartiromo said.