In a move aimed at bolstering election integrity, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is introducing a bill that would make it a felony for illegal immigrants to vote in U.S. elections. This legislation, dubbed the ‘JAIL for Alien Voters Act,’ aligns penalties for this act with those for U.S. citizens who vote unlawfully.
Gaetz contends that current federal law has a loophole, failing to explicitly state that voting as an illegal immigrant is a prohibited act. His bill would address this by specifically adding voting as a noncitizen as a prohibited act, and increasing the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony with a potential five-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine.
“President Donald Trump is right: illegal aliens who vote in our elections should be in jail,” Gaetz stated. “It is unacceptable that illegal aliens get lighter sentences for defrauding our elections than U.S. citizens.”
This legislative push comes amidst ongoing legal battles over voter rolls and citizenship verification. In Virginia, a federal judge recently ordered the reinstatement of 1,600 voters with questionable citizenship status. The judge ruled that the state’s removal of these voters from the rolls, deemed “systematic” rather than individualized, violated federal law.
This ruling followed a lawsuit filed by the Biden-Harris Justice Department against Virginia, alleging that the state’s removal of voters from the rolls too close to the November 5th general election violated the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
Gaetz’s legislation, along with his previously introduced ‘National Motor Voter Clarification Act,’ underscores his commitment to safeguarding U.S. elections. The latter bill seeks to ensure that states can remove illegal immigrants from their voter rolls at any time. Gaetz argues that these measures are necessary to protect the integrity of elections from potential voting by the millions of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. through the southern border during the Biden-Harris administration.
The legal battle over voter rolls in Virginia, and the ongoing debate over election integrity, are likely to continue as the 2024 presidential election approaches. Gaetz’s bill is a stark reminder of the intense focus on securing elections from potential fraud and ensuring the right to vote for eligible citizens.
