By Printus LeBlanc
Since President Trump was elected in 2016, the mainstream media, the left, and the Washington D.C. establishment have gone mad over election interference. Facebook memes are serious business in the nation’s capital now. Yet despite millions of taxpayer dollars, thousands of man hours, and lives turned upside down by multiple investigations, not one piece of evidence has been presented that shows Russia voted in, changed someone’s vote, or influenced someone to vote for President Trump. But there are cases around the country of real foreign influence in U.S. elections, and U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) has introduced legislation to put a stop to it.
Leftist cities around the nation are going to extremes keep their majorities. One of the more nefarious extremes is giving legal and illegal immigrants the ability to vote in local elections, and possibly federal elections. San Francisco is the latest city to allow such lunacy. This is the very definition of foreign intervention.
Duncan has introduced H.R. 6482, the Eliminating Foreign Intervention in Elections Act. The bill states, “None of the funds made available in any Act may be used to make payments to any unit of local government that permits individuals who are not citizens of the United States to vote in elections for State or local office.” The cities will have to decide what is more important, illegal immigrant votes or federal funds.
Late last year, the city of Chicago introduced CityKey, IDs for Chicago, specifically targeting illegal immigrants living in the windy city. According to the city clerk’s website, “no registration or pre-qualification is needed, and every Chicagoan is eligible regardless of age, insurance, income, health, or immigration status.” What is disturbing is the ID is also a valid form of ID for voting.
Clerk Anna Valencia wrote in a letter about the ID, “the Illinois Election Code requires the Board of Elections to accept current, valid photo identification cards and other local governmental documentation that includes an individual’s name and address, as proof of identity and residency. The CityKey fits both of these requirements.”
The question must be asked, what is to stop illegal and legal immigrants from voting in national elections if the ID targeting them is a valid form of voter ID? Nothing.
By flooding local elections with legal and illegal immigrant votes, American citizens are losing their voice. The Constitution grants citizens the right to vote, not non-citizens. For every non-citizen that votes, a citizen has their vote diluted, and the risk of non-citizen policies being pushed on citizens. Not only is it insulting to citizens, the cities and municipalities expect the federal government to reward them with funding for doing so.
In a press release about the legislation, Duncan stated, “Being an American citizen comes with great benefits and responsibilities, which includes voting in elections. The dangerous initiatives that have been popping up across the country that grant voting rights to illegal immigrants and noncitizens are very concerning. Allowing noncitizens to vote undermines the rights of American citizens and puts our democracy at risk. Municipalities that allow noncitizens to vote in their elections are more likely to adopt the types of radical sanctuary city policies that promote illegal activity, undermine law enforcement, and suppress the concerns of citizen voters.”
The left has proven it does not care about foreign interference in an election. In fact, the left is actively seeking foreign interference on its behalf, and the actions of numerous leftist localities around the country prove that. If Congress truly believes it needs to combat foreign interference in U.S. elections, Rep. Duncan’s bill would sail through Congress and land on President Trump’s desk. Unless of course, all the whining about Russian interference was just for show.
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Printus LeBlanc is the Legislative Director at Americans for Limited Government.
