Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has joined a coalition of other state AGs asking the United States Senate to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) to ensure election integrity by protecting United States elections from illegal voters.
In a letter, the attorneys general call the bill a “common-sense reform” that has broad support among American voters.
“The SAVE Act is important legislation that ensures only Americans vote in American elections, and I along with my colleagues strongly urge the United States Senate to pass this bill,” Moody said.
The letter was sent July 16 to congressional leaders from the attorneys general of 22 states.
On July 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act. It now goes to the Democrat-controlled Senate. Most Democratic lawmakers in the House voted against passage of the act.
“President Biden’s immigration disaster now threatens the security of America’s elections. During this surge in illegal immigration, cities and States across the country have started allowing noncitizens to vote in their elections,” the AGs said in the letter. “But allowing illegal voters in State and local elections, while bad enough, does not remain confined to just those elections.
“Indeed, some states have taken an even odder approach. Arizona’s Secretary of State explains that voters who register to vote without proof of citizenship will be designated ‘federal-only’ voters, meaning they are allowed to vote in federal, but not state or local, elections. Ohio recently found and removed noncitizens from its voter rolls.”
The attorneys general say the SAVE Act protects elections from illegal immigrants and upholds the rule of law.
“Under the SAVE Act, individuals must provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote,” the AGs wrote in the letter. “The SAVE Act also will help States identify and remove illegal immigrants from their voter registration rolls by providing States with access to federal databases. Those simple, common-sense reforms will protect our elections.”
The AGs remind lawmakers that “even only a few votes can make a large difference in a federal election.”
“Recent elections for the House, Senate and even president have been decided by just hundreds or thousands of votes,” they note in the letter. “Indeed, one of Iowa’s current Congresswomen was first elected to the House of Representatives by a margin of only six votes.
“Given those narrow margins, the votes of illegal immigrants and other noncitizens — illegal votes — could decide control of Congress or even the White House. And two of our undersigned Attorneys General previously served as their state’s secretary of state and state’s chief election officers and recognize the necessity of such a measure to secure our elections. As law enforcement officers we strongly support efforts to prevent that from happening.”
The coalition is strongly urging Congress to pass the SAVE Act to provide necessary security and ensure only Americans participate in American elections.
In the letter led by Iowa AG Brenna Bird, Moody is joined by the attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The letter was sent to House Speaker Michael Johnson (R-Louisiana), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).