America First starts with a simple commonsense principle: Only American citizens can vote in American elections.

Noncitizen voting is a real threat. We have seen cases in past elections of people who are not eligible to vote due to lack of citizenship actually vote. The problem is now compounded due to the policies of the last four years, during which open southern borders led to millions of unvetted illegal immigrants pouring across the border. We have also seen states actively promote noncitizen voting on a local level and fail to require proof of citizenship when registering people to vote. Enough is enough. The SAVE Act seeks to ensure that only American citizens, legally registered to vote, can cast a ballot in any federal, state, or local election.

The SAVE Act, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) last year and reintroduced as H.R. 22 in this year’s 119th Congress, would amend the National Voter Registration Act by requiring proof of citizenship for voting in federal elections. It’s a very simple and clear fix to a serious vulnerability. Under current law, states do not verify citizenship status during voter registration but instead blindly rely on an honor system whereby applicants simply check a box affirming their eligibility. Regardless of your philosophical or political leaning, to think that someone in this country illegally is going to adhere to “the honor system” makes absolutely no sense at all.

The evidence of noncitizen voting isn’t just theoretical; it’s happening in our communities. Take Virginia, which has automatic voter registration — another policy that denigrates election integrity, especially when combined with poor immigration policy. Virginia state officials discovered over 1,500 registered voters who were noncitizens, many of whom had been flagged after obtaining driver’s licenses — because in Virginia, you are automatically registered to vote even if you don’t ask to be once you get a driver’s license.

While Virginia acted swiftly to remove these individuals from the rolls (even as the Biden administration opposed it doing so), the incident exposed a deeper problem: Without proactive verification, noncitizens can slip through the cracks and cast ballots that dilute the votes of law-abiding Americans. It gets worse when you consider that cities like San Francisco have already legalized noncitizen voting in local elections — meaning that the voter rolls are guaranteed to have noncitizens present.

At the America First Policy Institute, we have long championed the principle that voting belongs exclusively to citizens. We have published state-level model policy closing loopholes; op-eds highlighting the injustices of noncitizen voting and how it disenfranchises those who worked so hard to attain citizenship; policy products delving deeper into the data on this issue; and more. Our focus has been on the state level to stop this travesty of people who are not citizens of our country being able to vote in American elections. Now it’s time to take this fight to the national level.

The SAVE Act ensures that only those who have sworn allegiance to the United States, whether by birth or naturalization, can influence its governance through democratic means. Anything less undermines the very concept of citizenship and hands foreign nationals a very real say in our future. By requiring proof of citizenship — such as a passport, birth certificate, or military ID — the SAVE Act closes the loophole that allows noncitizens to register and vote. It also mandates states to purge noncitizens from existing voter rolls and empowers them with access to federal databases to verify eligibility. This isn’t about disenfranchising anyone; it’s about ensuring that only those entitled to vote do so.

While critics may cry “voter suppression,” their argument falls flat. The SAVE Act includes provisions for alternative verification processes, allowing citizens without standard documents to provide other evidence of eligibility. This isn’t a barrier — it’s a safeguard. And while critics of the SAVE Act also argue that noncitizen voting is rare, rarity isn’t the point — integrity is. Even one illegal vote is one too many when it cancels out the voice of an American citizen. Without clear proof of citizenship requirements, even well-meaning noncitizens can inadvertently undermine our system, and bad actors can exploit it.

By implementing a simple commonsense policy, the SAVE Act addresses another issue: American confidence in elections. When noncitizens can vote undetected, skepticism soars. The SAVE Act restores confidence by sending a clear message: Only American voices count in American elections. That’s something Americans can trust and be proud of.

Five House Democrats joined Republicans to pass the SAVE Act in the last Congress, recognizing the commonsense appeal of protecting our democracy. Yet Senate Democrats blocked it, bowing to pressure from progressives who somehow think it’s acceptable to let foreign nationals have just as much an equal say as American citizens in our democracy. With a new Congress in session, there is now a new opportunity to push the SAVE Act across the finish line. The SAVE Act isn’t a reaction to a crisis; it’s a proactive step to prevent one. It empowers states to enforce federal election standards without federal overreach. It’s a surgical fix, not a sledgehammer, and it deserves our unwavering support. Let’s ensure that the only votes cast in America are by Americans.