Sen. Mike Lee Criticizes Resistance to SAVE America Act After Noncitizen Voter Roll Report

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has strongly criticized what he describes as resistance to the SAVE America Act, legislation he introduced earlier this year, following a report that approximately 30,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in U.S. states since 2000. Lee argued on the Senate floor that despite laws prohibiting noncitizen voting, their enforcement has become difficult, if not impossible.

"That thing that they claim never happens, voter fraud or noncitizen voting, just keeps happening over and over and over again," Lee stated, according to Fox News. He asserted that the current system relies on an "honor system" for self-attestation of voter eligibility.

A Reuters report indicated that these erroneous registrations occurred in California, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The outlet attributed the errors to "software glitches and clerical errors" and suggested they were inadvertent bureaucratic failures rather than organized efforts to illegally register immigrants. Reuters noted, however, that it was unable to determine how many noncitizens actually cast ballots, and that state data is often tentative.

This issue was also highlighted by New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who previously disclosed that 6,600 self-identified noncitizens were registered to vote in her state, with fewer than 400 casting ballots. Lee drew a parallel to obtaining identification for services, stating that "it should not be any easier for someone to get away with voter fraud at a polling location on voting day than it is to cheat Olive Garden through its never-ending pasta pass."

Lee's SAVE America Act, which has the support of former President Donald Trump and passed the House of Representatives, aims to address these concerns by requiring verification of citizenship and eligibility at the time of registration, as well as voter ID and photo identification at polling places. The bill has faced opposition and stalled in the Senate.

Don Palmer, senior legal fellow for election integrity at the Heritage Foundation, suggested an alternative approach, telling Fox News Digital that improving the verification of citizenship by driver's license agencies and other state entities could be a bipartisan solution. He emphasized enhancing database verification of citizenship, rather than solely relying on individuals to present documentation.

The Reuters report indicated that the identified noncitizen registrations were primarily due to "software glitches and clerical errors" and described them as "inadvertent bureaucratic failures." The outlet also questioned whether legislative efforts to mandate proof of citizenship for voter registration would effectively resolve the issue.