Kendra S. Horn: “A vote against this bill says ``We do not want to check citizenship. We want illegals and noncitizens to vote in…”

“A vote against this bill says ``We do not want to check citizenship. We want illegals and noncitizens to vote in American elections.'' Now, if Members think this is wrong, may I say, we all stand up and take the oath in this Chamber to abide by the Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment says: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. And we look at the Fifteenth Amendment: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude. You will notice the Civil War--Reconstruction legislators put this language together to differentiate between ``person'' and ``citizen.'' It is very clear. They are saying only citizens in the United States should vote. They are not saying persons. They are saying citizens. That is the basic choice. The framers of the Constitution and the framers of these amendments-- the great post-Civil War amendments--knew what they were doing, and they differentiated. They knew the difference between ``person'' and ``citizen.'' The last I knew, we wanted citizens of the United States to vote.”