DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Several Democrat lawmakers refused to answer why they voted against a measure to ensure that non-citizens cannot vote in U.S. elections in footage exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Only four Democrat lawmakers joined Republicans to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require states to obtain proof of citizenship before registering an individual to vote and remove all non-citizens from existing voter rolls. Several lawmakers who voted against the legislation either refused to tell the National Republican Congressional Committee why they seemingly support non-citizens voting in elections or claimed that the idea is a myth.
“Congresswoman, why do you want non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections?” an individual with the National Republican Congressional Committee asked Democrat Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who ignored the question. “Why do you not want to keep American elections safe and secure?
Among those asked were Democrat Reps. Mark Takano of California, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Greg Casar of Texas, Eric Sorensen of Illinois, Tom Suozzi of New York, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Lateefah Simon of California.
Suozzi said the idea that non-citizens vote in U.S. elections is a “myth” spread by Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk.
“I don’t want that,” Suozzi said. “That’s actually a myth that, what’s his name, Elon Musk was on a show where he was talking about non-citizens voting in New York. It’s just not true.”
Cherfilus-McCormick, Caser and Jared Moskowitz of Florida also said they do not want non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections.
However, non-citizens participating in recent U.S. elections does not appear to be a myth. In August, government officials in Alabama, Virginia, Ohio and Texas identified as many as 17,000 non-citizens on state voting rolls and worked to remove them from the lists ahead of the 2024 general election.
America First Legal, a Washington, D.C.-based organization aligned with the Trump administration, sued Maricopa County, Arizona, in August, after the county had allegedly failed to remove 35,000 registered voters from its voter rolls who did not provide proof of citizenship. The lawsuit prompted all 15 counties in Arizona to verify and remove voters from the voter rolls, including nearly 50,000 registrants who did not provide proof of citizenship, Fox News first reported.
After Oregon resumed automatic voter registration, the Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle Services division found 118 non-citizens on its voter rolls, and at least 13 of them had voted, according to Willamette Week. In September, the DMV had mistakenly sent the names of 1,619 people to the Elections Division to be added to voter rolls. In that group, at least 17 people voted.
Angelica Maria Francisco and Carlos Abreu, two illegal immigrants from Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty to falsely identifying themselves as American citizens and voting in U.S. federal elections. A Chinese national allegedly registered to vote and cast a ballot in the 2024 general election, according to statements made in October by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s office.
Former President Joe Biden’s administration fought against states that worked to remove non-citizens from its voter rolls. The Biden-led Justice Department sued Virginia and Alabama to prevent the states from taking such an action.
The Democrats who voted in favor of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act were Democrat Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Ed Case of Hawaii.
The National Republican Congressional Committee told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Democrats are refusing to explain why they treat “our sacred ballot box like an open border.”
“Democrats continue denying reality to explain their pathetic votes against requiring proof of citizenship to vote. The American people deserve better than these Democrats who treat our sacred ballot box like an open border,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Ben Petersen said.
