Kansas Republican Leader Slams Democratic Party Opposition To SAVE Act

Here's a glimpse at election reform advocacy and criticism of progressives for their reservations about legislation championed by the White House . . .  

Letter to the Editor: American Elections Should be Decided by American Citizens 

For well over a decade, Democrats have accused President Trump of fomenting division and lamented a lack of national cohesion. Given their professed desire for unity, you might think they’d join with Republicans to pass something that the overwhelming majority of Americans support. 

If so, you thought wrong. 

As it stands, Senate Democrats have pledged to block passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. It’s based on a simple premise: American elections should be decided by American citizens. 

To this end, the legislation stipulates that those registering to vote prove they were either born or naturalized here. It also requires government-issued ID to be presented at polling stations. The bill goes on to mandate that states remove noncitizens from the voter rolls as well as limit mail-in ballots to military personnel along with others who are legitimately unable to vote in-person.

Democrats contend that foreign citizens aren’t voting in our elections, but that would come as news to the Department of Justice. In a press release put out earlier this month, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania David Metcalf accused Mahady Sacko of unlawfully voting in the 2024 presidential election. Sacko, who is originally from Mauritania, has resided illegally in the United States since at least 2000. 

Nor was Sacko unique, as Indian national Kaushalkumar Patel also stands accused of voting in the Keystone State. Meanwhile, Chinese citizen Haoxiang Gao is alleged to have cast an illegal ballot in Michigan but fled the country prior to being indicted. What’s more, officials at Pennsylvania’s Department of Motor Vehicles have acknowledged a glitch which may have resulted in as many as 100,000 noncitizens being mistakenly registered as voters. That’s a larger figure than former President Joe Biden’s 2020 margin of victory there. 

Instead of addressing the issue, New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer has decried the SAVE Act as “Jim Crow 2.0,” suggesting that obtaining valid ID is an insurmountable task for minorities; how minorities are able to drive cars, take out mortgages, get married, or return items at Walmart is apparently a mystery to him. 

It’s far less of a mystery to minority voters themselves, which explains why the SAVE Act’s provisions enjoy widespread support. A survey carried out by Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll in February found that 75% of voters favor proof of citizenship, 81% want voter ID, and 80% believe noncitizens should be removed from voter rolls. 

America is a divided country, and there isn’t much these days that her citizens can come together over. The one thing that most of us can agree on? 

That Senate Democrats are on the wrong side of this issue. 

— Adam Peters, Ellis County GOP Chairman 

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