Alan Simpson: “this is the amendment to criminalize voting by aliens in Federal elections and make unlawful voting a ground for…”

“this is the amendment to criminalize voting by aliens in Federal elections and make unlawful voting a ground for exclusion and deportation. That is what this amendment is. This is the original Simpson No. 4. This amendment has three parts. It has been changed from the discussion that we had in the markup of this particular amendment. First, the amendment would create a criminal penalty for voting by aliens in any Federal election. Please note that this new criminal offense would cover only Federal elections, unlike the provision that was in the original version of the bill and that was deleted at the committee markup, because you will recall there was debate and discussion as to what that would do in a school board election or county commissioner election, and certainly those States should have the options to control that. That is the substance of this amendment. This new offense would be a misdemeanor. It is not a felony. It would be a misdemeanor. An alien who voted in any election, who voted solely or in part electing a candidate for President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia or resident commissioner, would be punishable by up to 6 months in prison and a $1,000 fine--not a felony.”