- Republicans Tie Government Funding to Voter Proof of Citizenship Bill
- JL Partners surveyed 1,000 likely voters for their views on the issue
If Republicans vote on Wednesday to couple an emergency spending bill with new requirements that voters must meet to provide proof of citizenship, they will have the support of Americans, a new poll from DailyMail.com shows.
It found that 48 percent of likely voters believe non-citizens will vote in US elections, and 45 percent believe they would support a government shutdown for that reason.
In contrast, 27 percent indicated that they would be against a closure for those reasons.
The results come from a poll of 1,000 voters conducted by JL Partners that focused on one of the key divides in the 2024 election.
Republicans believe legislation is needed to protect the legitimacy of the vote after years of unprecedented illegal immigration at the southern border.
JL Partners surveyed 1,000 likely voters about their views on noncitizen voting. About 45 percent said the issue was important enough to warrant a government shutdown.
However, it is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections and there is no evidence that this is a significant problem.
Still, Republican lawmakers are throwing their weight behind the issue, with House Speaker Mike Johnson now linking it to a temporary spending bill to keep the government open after Oct. 1.
“I call on all of my colleagues to do what the vast majority of the people of this country rightly demand and deserve: prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting in U.S. elections,” he said Tuesday, a day before the vote.
Even if it passes the House, it would set up a clash with the Senate, where Democrats control the chamber and oppose tying a budget bill to voter requirements, saying it amounts to voter suppression.
Poll results show that the Republicans’ message is resonating with voters.
About 34 percent said they were confident that noncitizens voted in their state (18 percent said they thought this was definitely true, and 16 percent said it was probably true), and the same percentage said they believed this happened in their local area (17 percent definitely and 27 percent probably).
Even 30 percent of people who planned to vote for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris said the problem was big enough to warrant a government shutdown.
Republicans insist legislation is needed to protect the legitimacy of the vote after years of unprecedented illegal immigration at the southern border
House Speaker Mike Johnson has coupled an emergency funding bill with new voting restrictions aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting (even though they are already banned)
“When most Americans think about non-U.S. citizens being able to vote, their instinct is, ‘No, they can’t,’” said James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners.
‘Voters think it’s likely to happen, and they hate the idea. So much so that likely voters actually support a government shutdown over the issue.
“Now that Speaker Mike Johnson is bringing the issue to a vote in Congress, he may not get the votes he needs in the House of Representatives. But he and other representatives can take heart from the fact that Americans are on his side.”
Americans are generally strongly opposed to non-citizens voting, with a total of 66 percent saying they should not be allowed to vote.
But as often happens, Gen Z is breaking with the consensus. Some 45 percent said they favored non-citizens voting, compared to 29 percent who were opposed.
The results have a margin of error of three percent.
The issue has been raised repeatedly by former President Donald Trump
He recently posted that election security should be linked to government funding bills
Further complicating the issue, former President Donald Trump has spoken out in favor of the idea of using a shutdown as leverage to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
“If they don’t get it, I would shut down the government right away,” he said recently.
Anyone who wants to vote must provide proof of citizenship. In addition, states should remove people suspected of not being citizens from the voter rolls.
On Sunday, Johnson traveled to Florida to discuss the issue with Trump.