Kendra S. Horn: “Elections are the very lifeblood of democracy. Fraud in elections poisons our electoral system and undermines the trust…”

“Elections are the very lifeblood of democracy. Fraud in elections poisons our electoral system and undermines the trust that is essential to democracy. Under the bill we are introducing today, State and local election officials would be able to make inquiries to the Social Security Administration which has a record of citizenship when they assign a Social Security number, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service which also can help verify people who have submitted to naturalization and citizenship. I want to emphasize that this legislation includes extensive restrictions on the use of the system to prevent discrimination and violations of privacy rights. This legislation strikes a vitally needed balance between protecting the sanctity of our elections and the rights of every individual. Last year, we saw many elections where the possibility of noncitizens voting was before us. Last year in the 104th Congress, we passed a historic Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. It made it explicitly illegal for noncitizens to vote.”