News/Commentary

‘Pass the SAVE act!’ Here’s what McConnell fears about proof of citizenship voting bill. Does he have a point?

August 29, 2024 | | Print Article

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly been pushing back against attempts to pass a bill to prevent noncitizens from voting.

Dubbed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, the bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of citizenship for one to vote in federal elections.

According to reports, the House Freedom Caucus would like to attach the SAVE Act to an upcoming continuing resolution (CR) bill and does appear to have the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“I can verify for you that the SAVE Act is a big part of this conversation,” Johnson said last week on a press call, according to The Hill. “And it is not just the Freedom Caucus — it is members across the conference who share the same concern that we do about this.”

“And we believe it’s one of the — perhaps the most urgent issue, the most imminent threat facing the country, is the integrity of this election cycle,” he added.

Several senators have also voiced their support for the act:

So what’s the problem? McConnell.

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office has been working behind the scenes to get House conservatives to drop their demands that a short-term funding bill include an immigrant voting crackdown,” according to Axios.

In fairness to McConnell, he genuinely believes including the SAVE Act in the upcoming CR would backfire on Republicans. How so?

“One fear is such a move would open the door for Democrats to tack on their own voting-related legislation, two GOP aides familiar with the conversation [said],” Axios noted.

He’s specifically worried about Democrats trying to push the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, a radical bill that would remove all the safeguards needed for a secure election. For instance, it’d prevent states from enacting voter ID laws.

McConnell is also reportedly worried about political backlash just months away from a pivotal election.

“McConnell staffers have urged conservatives in the Senate and the House to keep the precedent of passing clean short-term-funding bills and argued that using a potential shutdown to try to score political points is dangerous before the election,” Axios noted.

His office has also argued that a CR with the SAVE Act would be dead on arrival anyway, given that President Joe Biden has said that he “strongly opposes” it.

But, critics argue he should at least give it a try instead of just automatically dismissing the desires of the House Freedom Caucus and, in fact, many of his fellow senators.

The fact that he won’t even try has critics fuming mad.

Look:

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles