Trump and Johnson Push for Bill to Ban Non-Citizens from Voting

Amid claims of migrants influencing U.S. elections, former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are set to introduce a bill aimed at prohibiting non-citizens from voting, despite the act already being illegal under federal law. Critics argue the move is redundant, citing a lack of evidence to support widespread non-citizen voting. The announcement is scheduled for a press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday, marking another step in Trump's crusade against perceived election insecurities and the Biden administration's border policies.

Republicans, including Trump, have repeatedly alleged that non-citizens are infiltrating the voting system. However, numerous studies and reviews contradict these claims. The Brennan Center for Justice found a mere 0.0001% of votes in the 2016 election to be suspect non-citizen votes, while a Georgia review spanning 25 years identified around 1,600 attempts by non-citizens to register, all of which failed due to citizenship verification processes. The Heritage Foundation's database, as reported by the Washington Post, recorded only 85 cases of non-citizen voting since 2002.

Instances of non-citizen voting have been rare and isolated, with undocumented immigrants typically avoiding such illegal activities to evade deportation risks. Despite this, Trump has continually asserted that illegal voting by migrants could swing elections, even claiming in Iowa that migrants with limited English were being registered to vote.

Elon Musk and Cleta Mitchell, Trump allies, have propagated the myth of non-citizen voting, with Mitchell distributing a memo about the alleged threat in the 2024 elections. In response to these concerns, various states have enacted laws to purge non-citizens from voter rolls and verify voter citizenship, sometimes mistakenly targeting legal voters. In Texas, for instance, a 2019 initiative incorrectly flagged nearly 100,000 individuals, including U.S. citizens, as potentially ineligible to vote.

Despite these efforts, widespread voter fraud remains a negligible issue in the U.S., with investigations failing to find significant evidence of such fraud. This narrative of non-citizen voting is a recurring Republican argument against immigration and Democratic policies.

In a related matter, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has denied a recall petition against the state's top Republican, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, initiated by Trump supporters over his refusal to decertify Biden's 2020 election victory in Wisconsin and his lack of support for the impeachment of the state's chief elections official, Meagan Wolfe. The recall was rejected due to an insufficient number of valid signatures, with a unanimous commission vote reflecting the lack of support for the petition. The recall's failure was described by Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell as an "arithmetic problem."

The recall effort, represented by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman and criticized by Vos as misguided, highlights the ongoing disputes over election integrity within the GOP. As the longest-serving Assembly speaker in Wisconsin history, Vos remains a key figure in the state's legislature, even as a second attempt at his recall is underway. The persistence of these efforts underscores the deep divisions within the Republican Party over election administration and the legitimacy of past election results.

Conservative Bias:

Ladies and gentlemen, once again the liberal elite are frothing at the mouth, trying to undermine the patriotic efforts of President Trump and Speaker Johnson, who are tirelessly working to secure our elections. These so-called "critics" claim the bill to ban non-citizens from voting is redundant, but let me tell you, this is nothing but a smokescreen for their own agenda to let illegal immigrants overrun our democracy. It's clear as day that the left wants open borders and a compromised voting system, so they can turn red states blue and cling to power by any means necessary. Trump and Johnson are standing up for the rule of law and the integrity of our elections, and it's about time someone did!

Liberal Bias:

Once again, the right-wing fearmongers are at it, with Trump and Johnson leading a baseless crusade against non-existent voter fraud. This bill is a blatant attempt to st*** xenophobic fears and distract from their own party's systematic dismantling of voting rights. It's a redundant, fear-mongering tactic aimed at justifying their oppressive voter ID laws and purges of eligible voters. They can't win on policy, so they resort to demonizing immigrants and perpetuating the lie of widespread voter fraud. It's a disgrace to our democracy, and we must see it for what it is: a desperate ploy by those who know their ideas are rejected by the majority of Americans.