Kiggans Votes to Preserve the Integrity of America’s Federal Elections

WASHINGTON, DC: This week, Congresswoman Kiggans released the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 8281, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The legislation, which passed by a vote of 221-198, aims to preserve the integrity of America’s election system.

“I’ve heard from countless Virginians who are concerned about the integrity of our elections, especially as some states have instituted laws that allow those who have come to our country illegally apply for driver’s licenses and register to vote in local elections,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “By passing the SAVE Act, the House is working to address those concerns in a way that protects the sanctity of the ballot box while also preserving access to it.

“For me, it’s a no brainer to support policies that make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat, including maintaining a photo ID requirement, preventing ballot harvesting, and ensuring all state election officials can keep our federal election process secure and transparent. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the SAVE Act and to have voted in favor of its passage, and I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to do the same.”

Specifically, the SAVE Act would:

• Amend the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which has governed state voter registration since 1993, to require States to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity – in person – when registering an individual to vote in a federal election. This requirement would:

• Apply regardless of whether an individual is registering to vote at a DMV, a voter registration agency (such as a welfare office), or by mail.
• Direct states to establish an alternative process for applicants that may not have documentary proof of citizenship but are in fact U.S. citizens (due to religious reasons or otherwise), subject to minimum standards set by the Election Assistance Commission and signed attestations and affidavits by both the applicant and official making the determination.
• Direct states to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled Americans and applicants who have discrepancies on their documentation due to a name change.

• Require States to establish a program to remove non-citizens from their voter rolls and gives States no-cost access to Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration, and State databases to do so.
• Empower citizens to bring civil suits against election officials who fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements for Federal elections by expanding the NVRA’s existing private right of action, and add criminal penalties for election officials who register non-citizens to vote in Federal elections.
• Direct the Election Assistance Commission to promptly update any guidance associated with the SAVE Act and streamlines updates to federal forms by exempting the updates from the Paperwork Reduction Act.

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