WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., joined Senator Katie Britt, R-Ala., in introducing the Citizen Ballot Protection Act. The bill would ensure States are able to better verify that only American citizens are voting in federal elections by codifying the ability of States to require that an applicant provide proof of American citizenship when registering to vote via mail-in application.

“The right to vote is a sacred American value. For too long, cities across the U.S. have allowed noncitizens to vote in elections.  Ensuring that United States citizens are the only people voting is a commonsense provision that will promote election integrity,” said Senator Wicker.

“Voting in our country is a sacred right that must solely be limited to American citizens. To allow States to uphold this principle should be simple commonsense,” said Senator Britt. “It should not be controversial that States have the legal right to prevent noncitizens – including illegal aliens and o?cial representatives of foreign adversaries – from voting in State and Federal elections. Cities that allow noncitizens to vote in local elections disenfranchise hardworking American citizens, insult those American citizens who came to our country legally and took the time and e?ort to go through the citizenship process, and undermine faith in our entire electoral system – which is a cornerstone of our nation that we cannot allow to crumble. I’m proud to work with Representative Palmer and my Senate colleagues to ensure that we pass this legislation and stand up for the right of Americans – and only Americans – to vote in American elections.”

Joining Senators Wicker and Britt in introducing this legislation are Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Ted Cruz R-Texas, Deb Fischer, R-Nebr., and John Boozman, R-Ark.,.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

Background:

In 2024, Washington, D.C., began to allow noncitizens who have been residents for more than 30 days to vote in local elections, opening the door to the possibility that foreign nationals, including embassy sta? from countries such as China and Russia, could be casting ballots at the polls in our nation’s capital. In recent years, cities in Maryland, Vermont, and New York have also passed measures allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.

While States have the primary responsibility of overseeing federal elections, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 – also commonly referred to as the “motor voter law” – lays out certain registration requirements for federal elections. The Citizen Ballot Protection Act relates speci?cally to Section 6 of the NVRA, which requires that each State accept and use the federal mail voter registration application form developed by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Section 6 also allows a State to develop and use its own mail voter registration form as long as it meets all of the same criteria the NVRA requires for the federal mail voter registration form. The Citizen Ballot Protection Act simply amends the NVRA to explicitly allow States to put in place a proof of citizenship requirement for both the federal mail voter registration form and any State mail voter registration forms that they might develop.

State modi?cations to the federal form are reviewed by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Unfortunately, both the Election Assistance Commission and the courts have interpreted the prohibition on “any requirement for notarization or other formal authentication” as precluding e?orts by some States to include a requirement of documentary proof of American citizenship with the federal form.