Just a handful of days remain until the election and many people are wondering if it will be a lawful one or one that includes some more challenges relating to legal votes and voter fraud.
Voter fraud is especially on the mind of Republicans. The GOP has already said they will be keeping a close eye on the election process and who's voting. One thing is for certain however and that is noncitizens should not have a voice in U.S. elections.
"It is a federal crime for aliens to represent themselves as American citizens in order to register to vote and it's a federal crime for them to cast a vote," said former U.S. Assistant Attorney Andrew McCarthy.
Fights continue in multiple states, including swing states, where not everyone who shows up to vote is required to show proof of citizenship or a form of voter ID. In various states, noncitizens have been issued driver's licenses or social security numbers and use that as a way to vote.
The Biden-Harris Department of Justice sued Alabama and Virginia for removing noncitizens from the states’ voter rolls. The Supreme Court did rule this week that Virginia can purge around 1,600 noncitizens from their voter rolls after two lower court rulings were made claiming that removing noncitizens from voting was illegal. McCarthy said Virginia scored a win in this situation.
"What Virginia was trying to was take people off the ballot who are not voters because they are not Americans and that's by their own admission, McCarthy said.
Congress will be feeling the pressure over the next few weeks and months about this issue of noncitizens voting, voting integrity and potentially requiring voter ID to people to cast their ballots in a U.S. election.
So far, the Save American Voter Eligibility Act (“SAVE Act”) has passed in the House after being introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. endorsed the SAVE Act and then helped get it passed on July 10, 2024. It has since stalled with Democrats not wanting to get it passed, seeming to oppose keeping noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections.
Also this week, 198 Democrats voted down a bill that would've required proof of citizenship to vote. Just five Democrats voted for it.