There are currently two major pieces of legislation before Congress that will dramatically improve the integrity of our elections. Restoring and maintaining faith in the security of citizens’ votes is essential to the health of our republic. Together, the Equal Representation Act and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act will help make sure that it is easy to vote, and hard to cheat. Equal Representation Act (S. 3659/H.R. 7109) The Equal Representation Act will ensure that only American citizens will be counted towards representation and electoral college delegation. This seems like a no-brainer, but in 2010 the question of citizenship was removed from the U.S. Census, which is used to determine every state’s representation in Congress and power in the electoral college. Each congressional district, (equivalent to one representative in the House of Representatives and one Electoral College delegate in the race for President) is designed to include approximately 750,000 U.S. citizens. But without the distinction between citizen and non-citizen, that 750,000 could include an untold number of illegal aliens - at least 9,874,612 of which have crossed our border since 2021. Nearly 10 million people is equivalent to 13 congressional districts and 13 electoral delegates…and that’s just counting that amount that have entered over the past three years.

Needless to say: Only American citizens should be counted toward American representation and electoral power. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress to re-insert the question of citizenship into the U.S. Census so that only American citizens will be represented in Congress and the Electoral College. Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (H.R. 8281) Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) has introduced this bill to very simply ensure states require proof of citizenship before allowing individuals to vote. This seems like a simple, bipartisan idea—but the Left refuses to help protect our votes. While citizenship is already required to vote, many states have little to no requirements for proving citizenship at the polls. For example, many states accept drivers’ licenses as proof of citizenship, but do not require proof of citizenship to acquire that drivers’ license. This makes it impossible to tell who is really eligible to vote in our elections. With wide open borders and illegal aliens flooding our country, security loopholes must be closed. If the loopholes are not closed, it creates a number of opportunities for non-citizens to vote in our elections. The SAVE Act would end these loopholes and bring greater integrity to our elections. It is expected that it will receive a vote on the House floor next week.