{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.britt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/u-s-senator-katie-britt-leads-republican-senate-rules-committee-members-in-reintroducing-legislation-to-help-prevent-noncitizens-from-voting-in-federal-elections/", "U.S. Senator Katie Britt Leads Republican Senate Rules Committee Members in Reintroducing Legislation to Help Prevent Noncitizens From Voting in Federal Elections", "2025-11-18", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "Senate", "AL", "Katie Boyd Britt", "B001319", "www.britt.senate.gov", "britt", "https://www.britt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, today led all Republicans on the committee in reintroducing the Citizen Ballot Protection Act, the Senate companion bill to legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Gary Palmer (AL-06).\n\nThe 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.\n\n\u201cVoting 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,\u201d said Senator Britt. \u201cIt should not be controversial that States have the legal right to prevent noncitizens \u2013 including illegal aliens and official representatives of foreign adversaries \u2013 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 effort to go through the citizenship process, and undermine faith in our entire electoral system \u2013 which is a cornerstone of our nation that we cannot allow to crumble. I\u2019m 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 \u2013 and only Americans \u2013 to vote in American elections.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Citizen Ballot Protection Act is a great step towards restoring faith in the ability to conduct free and fair elections and preventing illegally cast ballots from swaying the outcome. I\u2019m thankful for Senator Britt\u2019s leadership on this issue and championing this legislation in the Senate,\u201d said Representative Palmer.\n\n\u201cThe right to vote, which is a cornerstone of our democracy, is a distinct honor and privilege granted to American citizens. That is why I am proud to help introduce the Citizen Ballot Protection Act, legislation that further protects that right by strengthening states\u2019 ability to ensure only American citizens are voting in federal elections,\u201d Senator Capito said.\n\n\u201cProtecting the integrity of our elections is vital, which includes empowering states to verify that only eligible voters are allowed to register. I am pleased to join Senator Britt and our colleagues on this commonsense legislation that can help restore trust in a fundamental aspect of our political system,\u201d said Senator Boozman.\n\n\u201cMississippi has administered a successful voter ID program for years. Confidence in our elections will only improve by making it easier for all states to ensure that only eligible citizens cast votes,\u201dSenator Hyde-Smith said.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s unconscionable that our nation doesn\u2019t have the proper systems in place to ensure that only American citizens are voting in our elections,\u201d said Senator Hagerty. \u201cThis dilutes the voting power of citizens and their faith in election integrity. I\u2019m pleased to join this legislation that will ensure only American citizens are choosing our leaders.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe 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 in our elections is a commonsense provision that will promote election integrity,\u201d said Senator Wicker.\n\nOriginal cosponsors of the legislation include all Republican members of the Senate Rules Committee: Chairman Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (R-Nebr.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.).\n\nIn 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 staff from countries such as China and Russia, could be casting ballots at the polls in our nation\u2019s capital.\n\nIn recent years, cities in Maryland, Vermont, and New York have also passed measures allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections.\n\nWhile States have the primary responsibility of overseeing federal elections, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 \u2013 also commonly referred to as the \u201cmotor voter law\u201d \u2013 lays out certain registration requirements for federal elections.\n\nThe Citizen Ballot Protection Act relates speci\ufb01cally 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.\n\nSection 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nSpeci\ufb01cally, NVRA states that the federal mail voter registration form:\n\nMay require only such identifying information (including the signature of the applicant) and other information (including data related to previous voter registration) as is necessary to enable the State election official to assess the eligibility of the applicant to vote.\n\nShall include a statement that speci\ufb01es each eligibility requirement (including citizenship), contains an attestation that the applicant meets each requirement, and requires the signature of the applicant under penalty of perjury.\n\nNVRA further states that the federal mail voter registration form may not include \u201cany requirement for notarization or other formal authentication.\u201d\n\nState modi\ufb01cations 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 \u201cany requirement for notarization or other formal authentication\u201d as precluding efforts by some States to include a requirement of documentary proof of American citizenship with the federal form.\n\nOne of the most notable instances of this issue is a 2013 Supreme Court ruling which held that Arizona could not require documentary proof of citizenship on the federal registration form without U.S. Election Assistance Commission approval.\n\nThe full text of the bill can be read here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.britt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/u-s-senator-katie-britt-leads-republican-senate-rules-committee-members-in-reintroducing-legislation-to-help-prevent-noncitizens-from-voting-in-federal-elections/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8019620329141617, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}