During remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) debated Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) over the SAVE Act (H.R. 8281), a bill that would restrict noncitizen voting in federal elections.
NOTE: Noncitizen voting is already illegal in federal elections and there is no evidence to suggest that widespread voting fraud occurs in federal elections.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
NOTE: Noncitizen voting is already illegal in federal elections and there is no evidence to suggest that widespread voting fraud occurs in federal elections.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Madam President, one citizen, one vote.
00:05Today, this foundational principle is under attack.
00:10It's under attack because President Biden refuses to enforce the law.
00:15Now, we face a direct threat to our entire electoral system.
00:21Consider this, since President Biden's inauguration on January 20th, 2021,
00:29over 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States.
00:35Now, this figure exceeds the populations of 36 states,
00:40creating a crisis that has been met with troubling silence and
00:44inaction from far too many on the other side of the aisle.
00:49With millions of unauthorized people now on US soil,
00:54living here in the United States, the potential for
00:57election fraud through ineligible voting is not just a hypothetical risk.
01:01No, it is a looming reality.
01:06With the influx of non-citizens under this administration,
01:11even if just a fraction, let's just say something like one in 100 were to vote,
01:16this could translate to hundreds of thousands of votes.
01:20Enough to sway our tightly contested elections and
01:24potentially alter their outcomes.
01:27This is deeply concerning, considering that a recent study showed that
01:31non-citizens have ample openings to vote illegally.
01:36It found that anywhere from 10 to 27% of non-citizens are registered to vote,
01:42and 5 to 13% of non-citizens
01:46do actually vote in presidential elections, no less.
01:50Across the nation, instances abound where states have inadvertently
01:55facilitated this very crisis.
01:58From unsolicited voter registration forms being mailed out to non-citizens,
02:03to driver's licenses issued without adequate checks, practices relying
02:08merely on the honesty of illegal aliens have opened up the floodgates to voter fraud.
02:15While it's true that it's already illegal for
02:18non-citizens to vote in federal elections,
02:22there are no effective systems in place to verify the citizenship of voters.
02:28A mere check on a box is all it takes, with little risk of being caught.
02:34In short, you're on the honor system with those forms.
02:38Federal law even prohibits states from requiring proof of citizenship
02:44when registering voters via federal forms.
02:47So it's not just that the states aren't doing an adequate job
02:51of verifying citizenship as a condition precedent to registering to a vote
02:56in a federal election, they're prohibited by law from doing so.
03:01An increasing number of localities permit non-citizens to vote in local elections.
03:07And this makes it even worse, it further blurs the distinctions that are there,
03:11that have historically been meant to protect the integrity of our elections.
03:17Prominent Democrats have openly discussed these tactics.
03:22In many instances, as beneficial to their agenda,
03:27as likely to help their political ambitions.
03:30Only months ago, every Senate Democrat voted to count illegal aliens in the census
03:37to help them shore up more seats in Congress and
03:39consequently more votes in the Electoral College.
03:43This cannot continue.
03:47It's our responsibility, our imperative, to close these gates.
03:53My bill, the SAVE Act, would ensure that this stops,
03:57because it would be a vital step in securing the electoral process.
04:03Ensuring that every vote cast is legitimate, and every voter is duly
04:08recognized and registered and properly brought into the system so that they can vote.
04:15The SAVE Act amends the National Voter Registration Act.
04:19The same act that was interpreted a few years ago by the Supreme Court as
04:23prohibiting the states from requesting any positive proof of citizenship.
04:33So that states could ensure that only US citizens may participate in federal elections.
04:37It fixes the NVRA.
04:40If the NVRA was interpreted that way, this would close that loophole.
04:45The SAVE Act requires states to obtain concrete documentary proof of citizenship
04:50at the time of voter registration.
04:52It specifies acceptable documentation, and
04:55requires states to establish alternative verification processes for
05:03those rare instances in which standard documents might be unavailable.
05:10Furthermore, the SAVE Act compels states to proactively remove non-citizens from
05:16voter rolls, and introduces severe federal penalties for
05:21those who intentionally register non-citizens.
05:26This bill echoes the sentiments of the American people from coast to coast.
05:31It transcends political affiliations with an overwhelming
05:36bipartisan supermajority of Americans supporting it.
05:41And it speaks directly to the core of what makes our country great.
05:46Fair, free, and secure elections operating within our constitutional republic.
05:54This is about protecting our elections from foreign interference,
05:58something my Democratic colleagues claim to care about, and long have.
06:02If we truly want our elections to be free of foreign interference,
06:08then by all means, pass the SAVE Act.
06:10Let's pass it today.
06:11Let's pass it right now.
06:17So for those of my colleagues who are opposed to this, why aren't they concerned
06:21with the ability of tens of millions of foreign nationals,
06:29non-citizens in the United States, to vote in America?
06:33Why should we allow tens of millions of foreign nationals who are not citizens
06:37of the United States to vote in US elections?
06:41Now, if the Biden administration insists on keeping America's border open,
06:45as to my great dismay, it has.
06:51For the entirety of the three and a half years or so, Biden's been in office.
06:57They're going to insist on keeping the borders open.
06:59By all means, they must, at least at a bare minimum, ensure that none of those
07:04non-citizens are interfering in our elections.
07:10Every single day that we delay,
07:12the foundation of our electoral process erodes a little more.
07:16We cannot wait for this administration to enforce the law,
07:23to enforce the border, which they haven't done.
07:25They continue to refuse to do it.
07:27More people continue to enter.
07:29But in the meantime, they've let in 10 million illegal aliens.
07:33You add that to those who are already here, an estimated 30 million non-citizens
07:39currently reside in the United States.
07:44But this administration just keeps right on trucking,
07:47not doing anything about this problem.
07:49And in fact, this administration strongly opposes this legislation.
07:54Now, let's run through the reasoning.
07:55The reasoning is really telling.
07:58There are several arguments raised by the White House
08:02in the statement they issued just earlier this week.
08:04First, the White House protests, quote, it is already illegal for
08:09non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
08:11It is a federal crime, punishable by prison and fines, close quote.
08:16Now, to be clear, that is on its face a correct statement of the law.
08:25I won't disagree with the statement on its four corners.
08:30But the conclusion is really messed up.
08:33As I've already stated, there's absolutely no
08:37functioning mechanism for enforcing the law.
08:40And it's worse than that.
08:42It's not just that current law doesn't create an adequate enforcement mechanism.
08:47It's that current law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court,
08:52affirmatively prohibits the states from doing what they would need to do in order
08:56to prevent non-citizens from registering to vote and
08:59subsequently voting in federal elections, contrary to federal law.
09:07Meanwhile, DOJ investigations of illegal voting are all but non-existent.
09:13A law without enforcement cannot, will not stop illegal behavior.
09:22And there are many, many circumstances in which,
09:25notwithstanding the fact that the underlying conduct is criminally
09:30prohibited, you still need some sort of verification mechanism to make it
09:34enforceable.
09:36By the White House's own logic, it'd be unnecessary and
09:41perhaps even unwise to have laws requiring
09:47a photo ID to buy beer and cigarettes.
09:51You know, we've got these laws on the books, after all,
09:54that already make it a crime to sell beer and cigarettes to children.
09:58So according to the White House's logic, we shouldn't need an additional law
10:03requiring age verification with a photo ID.
10:06Now, nobody would be that crazy, that insane to make that argument there.
10:12We shouldn't be making it here.
10:14It's the same argument, the exact same argument.
10:19Next, in second position,
10:21the administration makes the unsubstantiated claim that, quote,
10:26the justification for the SAVE Act is based on easily disproven falsehoods,
10:30close quote, end of sentence.
10:33But then, well, the administration utterly fails,
10:37defiantly refuses to offer anything to support that statement.
10:44It's ironic because that justification for opposing it on grounds that
10:50the justification for the SAVE Act is based on disproven falsehoods.
10:56This is its own disproven falsehood.
10:59There's nothing there.
11:00There's no falsehood that's been disproven.
11:03They have not disproven the fact that non-citizens, whether legally or
11:08illegally in this country at the time, can easily obtain a voter registration,
11:15eligibility to vote in federal elections, or the physical ability to do it, rather,
11:21so long as they're willing to check a box and sign their name.
11:23They don't dispute the fact that in all 50 states and
11:28D.C., a non-citizen can apply for and receive a driver's license, or
11:33that the National Voter Registration Act makes it easy when applying for
11:38a driver's license to check a box and sign your name, and
11:41thereby register to vote in federal elections.
11:43When you add to that the fact that states are affirmatively legally prohibited based
11:48on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the NVRA a few years ago,
11:51saying that the states cannot, may not,
11:56must not ask for any kind of documentation to verify citizenship, we've got a problem.
12:03So for them to say that our justification for the SAVE Act is based on falsehoods,
12:11on easily disproven falsehoods, is itself easily disproven, and it's a falsehood.
12:18Third, the administration asserts that, quote, making a false claim of citizenship or
12:22unlawfully voting in an election is punishable by removal from the United States,
12:27and a permanent bar to admission, close quote.
12:31Well, this is an interesting argument.
12:33This one is rich, Mr. President, coming from this administration.
12:38Look, well it's true that the naturalization form has a self-reporting
12:44mechanism that asks the applicant if the applicant has ever voted illegally.
12:49Yeah, that's true.
12:51As far as I can tell, even when they do self-report,
12:56in those, I suspect, rare instances where they do, absolutely nothing
13:01has been done with that information under the Biden administration.
13:07Joe Biden isn't deporting anyone for illegally voting.
13:11Joe Biden has opened the floodgates and just lets people come in.
13:16So that's rich coming from this administration,
13:18suggesting that there's gonna be suddenly rigorous enforcement
13:23of laws governing our border security.
13:26In this instance, when number one, they're not doing it, and number two,
13:31everywhere you look, they're doing the opposite of that.
13:33Fourth, the administration asserts, quote,
13:37states already have effective safeguards in place to verify voters' eligibility and
13:42maintain the accuracy of voter rolls.
13:47Mr. President, that assertion is simply flat out wrong.
13:51It's just false.
13:53It's false factually, and it's false legally, meaning it is not true,
13:59and it cannot be true by operation of law for reasons I've just explained.
14:03States are legally prohibited from requiring proof of citizenship
14:08when registering voters for federal elections.
14:15This, I fear, may well be a feature, not a bug, for the administration, and
14:19a reason for the administration to oppose it, tragically.
14:26We'll get back to that more in a moment.
14:30But look, this loophole that I'm describing,
14:32based on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the NBRA,
14:36telling states that they may not and must not ask for
14:39any kind of evidence of citizenship, that's a gaping loophole that we must fix.
14:47Lastly, the administration claims that instead of safeguarding our elections,
14:50this bill, with its incredibly generous list of ways to demonstrate citizenship,
14:55would make it harder for Americans to vote.
15:00Well, look, the reality is that there's an expansive
15:03list of ways to demonstrate citizenship.
15:07Even if you lack the documentation traditionally involved in proving it.
15:12And keep in mind, it's not unusual for
15:15Americans to be asked for proof of citizenship.
15:19Every single time an American citizen starts new employment, starts a new job,
15:25and they fill out an I-9, they've gotta provide proof of citizenship.
15:30And if you're not a citizen, you've gotta show evidence of your visa and
15:34your eligibility to work in the United States under that visa.
15:38If you can't do that, you can't start a job.
15:40This happens all the time.
15:42This is not as if the ability to prove citizenship and
15:48a requirement that one do so is foreign to us.
15:52Nor is it the case under this bill that it would be exceptionally difficult.
15:55Because even if you're one of those rare individuals who, for
15:58example, doesn't have or have access to a birth certificate or
16:02something else that could prove it, we've got a long list of other ways that
16:06you can do it, even if you lack the traditionally utilized documentation.
16:12This bill allows all American citizens to vote.
16:16More importantly, if enacted, it would mean that no American vote
16:21could be canceled out by a vote cast illegally by a non-citizen.
16:24This bill would make it harder to cheat in elections and
16:28ensure the integrity of every ballot lawfully cast.
16:32There is no valid argument against the SAFE Act, Mr. President, none.
16:39The only reason to oppose this bill would exist if you needed
16:44illegal votes to win elections.
16:47Full stop, that's it.
16:48By passing the SAFE Act, we would send a clear message that in
16:53the United States of America, voting is not just a privilege of citizenship,
17:01but a cherished and protected right.
17:08As debates about election integrity rage, the SAFE Act stands out by guaranteeing
17:14that only American citizens can have a say in our elections.
17:21American elections must be decided by American voters.
17:26Full stop.
17:29So Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that
17:33the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of HR 8281, which is at
17:38the desk, further that the bill be considered read a third time and
17:42passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
17:47Is there an objection?
17:50Reserving the right to object.
17:51The Senator from California.
17:54Mr. President, I ask you this.
17:57How many times do we have to go through this?
18:02Less than two months ago, I came down to the floor of this Senate to object
18:06to this very same bill, expressing concerns,
18:11asking questions, and here we are again, and nothing has changed.
18:18So it doesn't matter how many times this bill comes to the floor.
18:22It doesn't matter how many times our Republican colleagues feign outrage
18:27over non-citizens unlawfully voting without a shred of evidence.
18:34It doesn't change the fact that as good as the proponents may
18:39make this bill sound or try to make this bill sound,
18:43it is nothing other than a solution in search of a problem.
18:49Now I speak both as a Senator representing California, but
18:52also as a former Chief Elections Officer of California, where I,
18:59as the Secretaries of State across the country, by the way, worked alongside
19:03tireless election clerks and administrators across the political spectrum.
19:09At the state and local level, and given that experience, I can tell you this.
19:16There is no credible evidence of a meaningful number of non-citizens voting in our elections.
19:25In 2016, audits showed that non-citizens accounted for
19:310.0001% of the population.
19:360.0001% of the vote.
19:41Even the conservative Cato Institute has said that, quote,
19:46non-citizens don't illegally vote in detectable numbers, end quote.
19:55And I'm glad Senator Lieber mentions the National Voter Registration Act,
19:58because as he pointed out, it was
20:03upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in terms of its guidance of what states can and
20:08should do and what they cannot do.
20:10He also didn't mention that the National Voter Registration Act was adopted on
20:15an overwhelming bipartisan vote of Congress.
20:22But rather than propose legislation based on facts,
20:27this bill would respond to the alarming allegations
20:33that Republicans themselves have fabricated.
20:37It would create more barriers to exercising the right to vote and
20:42would restrict ballot access for even more Americans than is currently the case.
20:48It would make voting harder for the more than 21 million eligible
20:53voters in America who can't easily access their proof of citizenship.
20:58I don't know about you, I'm not in the habit of carrying around my birth certificate or
21:02even my passport, not everybody has a passport,
21:05doesn't mean you're not a citizen if you don't carry a passport.
21:09And I'm not just talking about Democrats or Republicans,
21:12I'm talking about Americans of both political parties.
21:15The bill would clearly also disproportionately impact voters and communities of color.
21:24In addition, this bill seeks to undermine faith in our elections
21:29by injecting fear and uncertainty, particularly in an election cycle
21:37at a time when our democracy demands more calm and
21:42understanding of the integrity of the process.
21:47But Senator Lee and I agree on one thing, believe it or not, and
21:52that is voting is a sacred responsibility.
21:57And the right to vote in and of itself is fundamentally sacred.
22:04So to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, if you're truly worried about
22:10the election and our democracy, then ask you this, join me.
22:16Join me in passing the Freedom to Vote Act and
22:20making sure that all eligible Americans, yes,
22:23only United States citizens, can make their voices heard at
22:28the ballot box without any unnecessary barriers or obstacles.
22:35It's the most American and the most bipartisan thing that we could do.
22:41But until then, let's be honest with the American people.
22:46So yes, Mr. President, I object.
22:49Mr. President.
22:50The objection is heard.
22:52Mr. President.
22:54The Senator from Utah.
22:56I appreciate how the presiding officer always speaks loud enough so
22:59that everyone can hear.
23:00And the presiding officer also manages the floor with
23:06great assertiveness, which I also appreciate.
23:09I'm grateful to my friend and colleague, this distinguished senator,
23:13my colleague from California, and his thoughtful approach to legislation.
23:19There are some things that he said that I feel that I need to address.
23:24One of them is a reference to
23:30a belief that there is no credible evidence of non-citizens voting.
23:36At least no credible evidence of non-citizens voting in any
23:41significant numbers.
23:44Well, there are studies that go exactly the opposite direction.
23:49Studies like the one that I cited just moments ago,
23:53showing that it is a non-trivial sum, such that if even something
23:59at the low end of the percentages cited in that study were correct,
24:04that could easily be enough to sway the outcome of some elections.
24:09But regardless, what my friend is referring to has to be taken
24:14with a grain of salt, considering how things have changed on the ground.
24:22The numerator and the denominator of that fraction have changed
24:27over the last few years, where we've now got about 30 million non-citizens
24:32living in the United States, with about 10 million who have come in,
24:36who are illegally in the United States now, who entered this country
24:42unlawfully and are now living in the United States.
24:45That is not a non-trivial sum,
24:48when that many people entered the United States that quickly.
24:51And when you've now got all 50 states and
24:55DC that issue driver's licenses to non-citizens,
25:02that coupled with the National Voter Registration Act and
25:06the way the National Voter Registration Act was interpreted a few years ago by
25:09the Supreme Court of the United States, saying that the state officials
25:13who process those federal forms submitted under the NVRA so
25:18that people can register to vote in federal elections while applying for
25:23their driver's license, that creates a toxic soup
25:28in which there's an environment just ripe with opportunities for
25:32foreign interference in US elections.
25:36You cannot add this many non-citizens, legal or illegal non-citizens,
25:43to the United States in this short of a period of time.
25:46And couple it with that kind of voter registration framework, and
25:52not anticipate that there will be significant numbers of people
25:56who will end up registering to vote.
25:58Some perhaps somewhat innocently, perhaps others less innocently, I don't know.
26:04But it would be supremely naive, and worse than that,
26:10willfully blind to what we all know is going to happen unless we pass this.
26:19Now, the House of Representatives passed this bill yesterday,
26:23which gets to another point made by my colleague,
26:25saying that we've been down here over and over and over again doing this bill.
26:29I'm not sure what he's referring to, the bill hasn't even been around that long,
26:32but something material changed yesterday.
26:36Yesterday, the House version of the SAVE Act,
26:39which is the version that I'm coming to the floor today to propose,
26:43the one that I just tried to pass by unanimous consent moments ago,
26:47before it was met with the objection of the Senator from California.
26:53That bill was passed yesterday,
26:55less than 24 hours ago, by the House of Representatives.
26:58With bipartisan support, I would add.
27:00Not just Republicans over there, some Democrats who are concerned
27:07with very good reason, joined with Republicans in order to get this thing passed.
27:14So, to say that this is an area in which there's no credible evidence
27:22of any need to act is science fiction fantasy.
27:27It is contrary to fact, it is contrary to logic,
27:30it is contrary to our understanding of human nature,
27:33contrary to our understanding of the National Voter Registration Act
27:36and how it's been interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States,
27:39and how elections work.
27:42As to my colleague's suggestion that this is feigned outrage,
27:48feigned outrage that's animating this,
27:55nothing could be further from the truth.
27:56Look, I wish this could be feigned.
27:58I wish, I had the luxury of this being something that were feigned.
28:03Mr. President, this is serious business.
28:08We lose something.
28:11We lose something as Americans any time we, certainly any time we allow
28:15our elections to be vulnerable to interference
28:21from forces outside the United States, including foreign nationals,
28:26non-U.S. citizens inside this country.
28:30When that happens,
28:34when the public starts to perceive that others are voting in this,
28:39diluting their votes,
28:41that has deleterious effects on the effective operation
28:45of our Republican form of government that
28:49are very difficult to recapture once they're lost.
28:54We can't treat this casually.
28:56And so, look, I will be back.
28:59It's unfortunate that we weren't able to pass this today.
29:03Let me restate the point I made earlier.
29:05There is not a legitimate reason to oppose this bill.
29:09We make it incredibly easy under this bill for any American.
29:12If you are an American citizen, you can easily prove your citizenship.
29:17And you can do it in the way this bill requires, and you can still vote.
29:21It is not hard, it is not expensive, it need not require anyone to spend a dime
29:26or a nickel or even a penny.
29:31It just requires you to be an American.
29:34There is not a legitimate reason to oppose this bill.
29:37There is not a logical reason to oppose this bill.
29:40Unless, of course, your objective is different.
29:42Unless, of course, you are just fine with and, in fact, excited about
29:46or reliant upon non-citizens voting.
29:51That's alarming.
29:52Thank you, Mr. President.
29:56Thank you.