Mike Johnson May Attach Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Law to Stop-Gap Spending Bill

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Republican leadership are reportedly discussing attaching a bill that requires proof of citizenship to vote to a stop-gap spending bill.

The federal government will shut down on September 30 if Congress fails to pass a spending bill, and congressional leaders are eyeing a short-term spending bill that would fund the government past Election Day, November 5.

Johnson and Republican leaders are now considering attaching the SAVE Act, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote in a federal election, to the short-term spending bill that would continue funding the government until March 2025.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced the legislation and told Breitbart News Daily in June that there is “repeated evidence” of non-citizens voting.

“Let me just say this about the overall state of the election issue,” Roy said. “We’ve got repeated evidence of those who are here illegally — or whether they’re here legally — but non-citizens voting.”

“Noncitizen voting is a threat to election integrity,” Speaker Johnson said in a policy brief on the bill.

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) said in a statement after the bill passed in July:

Voting is a sacred right for American citizens, and illegal immigrants should never have the opportunity to vote in our elections. The Biden Administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into our country, and we must ensure illegals cannot register to vote and sway our elections. It tells you everything you need to know that the Biden Administration opposes this commonsense effort and wants to maintain loopholes that allow illegal immigrants to vote while keeping our Southern Border wide open. I will continue fighting to preserve election integrity and prevent illegal immigrants from voting.

A 2022 YouGov survey found that 65 percent of Americans back requiring proof of citizenship to vote in elections, which included 48 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of swing voters, and 88 percent of Republicans.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote on Monday, “Hats off to @SpeakerJohnson for attaching the SAVE Act to the September spending bill. If it’s a ‘nonstarter’ with Democrats to deter noncitizens from voting, they’re going to have to explain that.”