Tea Party Group to Give Lawmakers Push on Banning Noncitizen Voting

Tea Party Patriots Action is reportedly planning to push federal lawmakers during the summer recess to ban noncitizen voting by attaching the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act – which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections – to must-pass legislation.

According to The Hill, the conservative grassroots organization will be launching a petition online and in person to drum up support for the effort, which centers on a perennially popular cause for President Donald Trump and his supporters.

"So much focus, up until last week, was on the reconciliation bill. And everyone has their priority ... and they forget about other things that maybe aren't as important to them," Tea Party Patriots Action co-founder Jenny Beth Martin told the outlet. "So, we're just trying to help remind them this is important to your constituents."

"But they've been receptive," she added. "The members who I've spoken to on both the House side and the Senate side have been receptive to what we're doing."

Over the next eight weeks, group members will be urging people at community events to attend and host ice cream socials in August so they can discuss the proposal in a more relaxed setting. Aug. 23 is expected to be a day of action, with members planning to hold public awareness campaigns at busy intersections or local rallies on the issue.

In April, the House passed the SAVE Act in a 220-218 vote, with all Republicans and four Democrats – Reps. Ed Case, of Hawaii; Henry Cuellar, of Texas; Jared Golden, of Maine; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, of Washington – voting in favor.

The Senate has not yet taken up the measure.

Tea Party Patriots Action will also reportedly hold events in lawmakers' home districts to thank them for supporting the SAVE Act in the House or to encourage them to vote for it in the Senate, and deliver petitions to them in Washington, D.C., in September.

Critics argue that it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, but the bill's proponents say it is needed to prevent migrants from casting ballots unlawfully.

Democrats claim that the legislation would also disenfranchise many Americans who may not be able to produce proof of citizenship in order to vote.

Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order that directs states to require that people show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. The president's order was met with skepticism by legal experts and would likely be reversed by the next Democrat president.

"President Trump is making some changes through executive orders, but executive orders can be fleeting when you have a new president," Martin said. "It's the right thing to do for our country, so we want to focus on it and see it through."