The Shadow
Making U.S. Federal Elections More Secure
With a new U.S. President and new leadership in the U.S. Senate, House Republicans are working hard to deliver important, commonsense bills to President Trump’s desk.
These bills range from all policy issues, including cracking down on illegal immigration and illicit fentanyl, unleashing American energy independence and protecting girls in women’s sports.
Some of these bills are ones that saw success in the House last Congress. They were reintroduced this Congress with the hope that the U.S. Senate under Republican control would move to pass these measures.
One such measure was the Laken Riley Act.
Named after the University of Georgia student tragically murdered by an illegal alien while out on a jog, the Laken Riley Act requires law enforcement to arrest and detain illegal aliens who commit crimes.
Because of the great severity of southern border crossings, House Republicans worked rapidly to get the Laken Riley Act across the finish line.
We were successful, and President Trump signed the bill into law just 10 days into his second term!
We hope to repeat this achievement with other commensense bills that passed the House in the last Congress.
Another such bill with promising prospects is the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
The SAVE Act is fairly straightforward. It will strengthen America’s voting laws by requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship when registering people to vote in federal elections.
During the last Congress, I was proud to vote to advance the SAVE Act out of the House Committee on Administration.
When the bill was considered by the full House, I supported the measure again.
Now that Republicans control the Senate as well, House Republicans are preparing to pass this meaningful legislation again to safeguard American elections.
We are already seeing other states and localities take action to protect their elections and preserve election integrity.
To begin April, a statewide vote in Wisconsin took place to consider a state constitutional amendment.
The amendment is designed to strengthen Wisconsin’s current voter ID law by enshrining the requirement to present identification to vote into the state constitution.
This was similar to what used to be the law in Virginia. But, because it wasn’t a constitutional requirement, it was changed a few years ago by the legislature.
Wisconsin voters approved the proposal with more than 60% of the vote!
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Wisconsin is one of 36 states that ask for or require people to provide some form of identification when they show up to vote at the polls.
Election developments are also taking place in very liberal areas of the country as well.
In March, the New York State Court of Appeals considered a New York City law, Local Law 11, that allows non-citizens to vote in City elections.
The New York City Council passed the measure in 2021, and the City’s mayors allowed the bill to become law.
However, on an overwhelming basis, the liberal Court of Appeals ruled that the law was unconstitutional!
New York City non-citizens will not be able to vote in local elections, but Washington, DC cannot say the same.
2024 was the first year where non-citizens could vote in DC local elections.
Given the above attempts to allow non-citizen voting, I am working to rein in these efforts and protect American elections from illegal voting.
Last Congress, I introduced the NO VOTE for Non-Citizens Act. The bill withholds some federal dollars that go to localities that allow non-citizens to vote in their elections.
I plan to lead the bill’s introduction again for this Congress.
Congressional action will be important to strengthen our elections, but President Trump is also working on this issue.
In late March, Trump issued the Executive Order, Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.
The Order calls for actions to be taken to enforce the citizenship requirement in federal elections, verify voter eligibility, and strengthen our voting systems.
Congress will codify many of these Trump Executive Orders into law, and we can start by passing the SAVE Act.
Like almost all legislation, the SAVE Act does not resolve all issues. Accordingly, additional legislation is likely to be enacted in the next couple of years.
Making our election process both safe from bad actors and easy for U.S. citizens to use is the goal I will continue to strive to make happen.
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at morgangriffith.house.gov. Also on my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.
