Kendra S. Horn: “when my Irish great-grandfather came here, the first time he had a chance to vote, he dressed up in top hat and tails to…”

“when my Irish great-grandfather came here, the first time he had a chance to vote, he dressed up in top hat and tails to go to the polls. When my German immigrant father came here, he could not afford the top hat or the tails, but the proudest moment of his life was when he cast his first vote in the United States of America. The vote is precious. American citizens expect the voting rolls to consist of American citizens. But right now there is no way to make that assurance. What this bill does is provide an opportunity in five pilot States over the next three years to test the federal information that a local registrar of voters may seek. It is not compulsory; it is not the Federal Government telling the States how to deal with their voting rolls, but it is the Federal Government providing two tools for the local registrar to use to answer one question: Is the person a citizen or is the person not? American voters expect citizens to be on that roll, not noncitizens.”