Democrats Refuse To Reject Non-Citizens Voting In Federal Elections
A parade of Democratic witnesses showed their true colors on Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary hearing on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. None were willing to take a stand and declare that only U.S. citizens should vote in federal elections.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) asked a straightforward and benign question of each of the witnesses. He implored them to give a basic “yes” or “no” response to questions over people who are not U.S. citizens voting.
Each was asked, “Do you believe that only citizens of the United States should be able to vote in federal elections?”
Simple enough, especially considering that the witnesses were addressing a hearing on voting rights. But one by one, each Democrat dodged the query.
President of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project Lydia Camarillo responded, “That’s a decision of the state law but I want to emphasize…” Lee interrupted her attempt to avoid answering and asked, “It’s a decision of state law as to who should vote in federal elections?”
Obviously, as she well knew, it is not. But Camarillo ultimately answered that she lacked a position on that question.
Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said, “Federal law prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections and our focus is on enabling all eligible voters to be able to vote and cast their ballot.”
Again, a slippery answer to a direct question.
There were two Republican witnesses before the panel. The Public Interest Legal Foundation’s Maureen Riordan and the Heritage Foundation’s Hans von Spakovsky asserted that non-citizens should not be permitted to vote in federal elections.
The GOP is vigorously attempting to secure the election process to preserve its integrity and voter confidence. It was December when Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) introduced the Citizen Ballot Protection Act as a companion bill to a House proposal.
It would establish protocols to ensure that only U.S. citizens are permitted to vote in federal elections.
But as was clearly displayed in Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Hearing, Democrats were solidly opposed to building a wall around the nation’s electoral system.
