Originally Authored at TheFederalist.com
Self-proclaimed “civil rights” groups signed a letter suggesting a bill that keeps foreign nationals from registering to vote in U.S. elections is a racist attempt “to elicit irrational fear of the growing number of citizens of color.”
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights published the letter Tuesday, arguing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act – which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections – “seeks to intimidate members of immigrant communities and communities of color.”
The letter baselessly called the bill, which passed in the House of Representatives Wednesday, “unnecessary and dangerous” and claimed it “seeks to promote fear-mongering and divisive rhetoric.”
The letter also claims that concerns about noncitizen voting are unfounded because “federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections.” It doesn’t explain, however, instances in which foreign nationals have slipped onto voter rolls in the United States.
“In Virginia, for example, more than 11,000 aliens were initially listed on the state’s voter roll within the past decade,” the Heritage Foundation’s Matthew Tragesser noted Wednesday. “In New Jersey, at least 616 known aliens ended up in the state’s voter registration system just a few years ago.”
In North Carolina, roughly 10 percent of noncitizens surveyed at an apartment complex admitted to being registered to vote, according to an investigation by Muckraker.com and the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.
What are these groups masquerading as “civil rights” organizations – and why would they oppose enforcing the law by requiring proof of citizenship?
Democrat Priorities
Many of the groups behind the letter are left-leaning, and many specifically champion voting practices that make it easier for Democrats to win.
The Center for Popular Democracy is a leftist group that focuses on mobilizing voters, according to InfluenceWatch. The group partners with “high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions.” According to the group’s website, it aims to “create an inclusive, equitable society where people of color, immigrants, working families, women, and LGBTQ communities thrive.”
The Fair Elections Center is a left-leaning litigation group that seeks to “overturn voter identification laws” and allow felons to vote, according to InfluenceWatch. It operates the Campus Vote Project, which drives turnout among college students. The group was a project of the New Venture Fund, under the umbrella of leftist dark money group Arabella Advisors, until it launched as independent in 2018.
The National Vote advocates for replacing the Electoral College, which it claims has origins in the “slavery era,” according to its website. The Secure Elections Network is a left-wing group founded in 2020 that supports mail-in voting and other Democratic election policies.
Vote.org is a supposedly nonpartisan group that promotes voter registration among groups likely to vote for Democrats, as The Federalist previously reported. The group often echoes left-wing concerns of “threats to democracy.” Vote.org also partners with leftist groups like the Trans Empowerment Project and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). It collaborates with the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which funneled $328 million from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to local election offices to boost Democratic turnout in the 2020 election.
The NAACP, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also signed the letter. The ACLU is reportedly planning legal attacks in case former President Donald Trump wins a second term, according to UnHerd. And when the Biden DOJ sued Alabama for its law banning ballot harvesting, the ACLU’s state affiliate backed the DOJ.
The Protect Democracy Project was formed to “oppose” Trump’s policies, according to InfluenceWatch. It also operates the National Task Force on Election Crises, a network of powerful leftist election meddlers.
Other activist groups including the Southern Poverty Law Center’s lobbying arm, Greenpeace, the Women’s March, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund signed the document, as did the powerful left-wing unions American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association, and Service Employees International Union.
Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.