OPINION:
Americans deserve free and fair elections. For most, that means a voting system of, by, and for American citizens, free of foreign interference.
But in today’s world of increasingly extreme progressive politics, that commonsense principle is under attack. Even as liberals rail against foreign influence in elections, progressive groups are cashing in on at least $500 million in funds from a secretive foreign billionaire named Hansjorg Wyss.
Meanwhile, liberal activists across the country are working hard to normalize noncitizen voting, to astounding effect. In the last two years, New York City and the District of Columbia have passed laws to enfranchise anyone living within their borders. New York’s law remains bottled up in court, but in our nation’s capital, officials are elected with the votes of illegal immigrants and embassy staff working for Russia and China.
Two bills recently introduced in Congress aim to push back against the liberal embrace of foreign influence and noncitizen voting. The first, from Sen. Bill Hagerty, takes aim at the legal loopholes that let foreign billionaires funnel enormous sums to influence U.S. elections. The second, Rep. Chip Roy and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s SAVE Act, makes it harder for foreign nationals to register and vote in federal races.
Cue the liberal outrage. The SAVE Act aims to require that people provide proof of citizenship when they sign up to vote in federal races. Pundits and politicians quickly slammed the measure as “voter suppression” and labeled it unnecessary, since it is already illegal to vote in federal elections.
That’s true, but believe it or not, courts have interpreted federal law to make it illegal for states to require proof of citizenship before they sign someone up to vote in federal races. That’s the result of left-wing litigation intended to tie states’ hands. Now, the only safeguard that stands between a noncitizen and the voter rolls is a checkbox asking whether he or she is a citizen.
When it comes to verifying citizenship, the honor system doesn’t cut it. The fact is, noncitizens can and do become registered to vote. In 2018, the Justice Department brought federal charges against 19 noncitizens who had registered and voted as recently as 2016.
Sometimes these illegal registrations are the result of deliberate fraud. Other times, noncitizens unwittingly register and vote, or are even misled into believing they can cast ballots. If they do, they are subject to criminal penalties and deportation. The problem is even more acute in places like the District that affirmatively permit noncitizens to vote in local races. If they accidentally vote in a federal race, they are in for a world of trouble.
In other words, America’s lax rules both permit fraud and trap innocent noncitizens. That’s the worst of all worlds. With millions of illegal aliens pouring across the border and landing in states across America, a change is clearly in order.
Exposing American elections to the potential for noncitizen voting is bad enough. The left’s quiet embrace of foreign funding to influence politics is arguably worse. In recent years, left-wing groups have cashed in on nearly $500 million in foreign contributions from Hansjorg Wyss. Armed with these funds, the Arabella Advisors network and other groups have run ads supporting the Biden climate agenda, financed former Attorney General Eric Holder’s litigation, and gerrymandered House seats for Democrats.
Nearly $250 million of Mr. Wyss’ contributions have landed in the coffers of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is one the largest donors to left-wing ballot measures across the country. A recent report from the nonpartisan watchdog group Americans for Public Trust reveals this foreign-funded juggernaut has spent nearly $100 million on ballot issue campaigns in 25 states pushing abortion, tax increases and election law rewrites intended to give Democrats a partisan edge.
It is illegal for foreign nationals to donate to candidates for political office, but there is no such federal prohibition on foreign funding of ballot measures. Mr. Hagerty’s measure aims to close that loophole, among other things. Ballot measures are meant to give citizens a voice in the lawmaking process, not serve as a Trojan horse for widespread foreign influence.
Polling shows Americans overwhelmingly reject foreign interference, and just 9% back noncitizen voting. To the average person, these issues aren’t partisan — they’re commonsense American. Will Congress act, or will it let America roll through another election exposed to foreign influence and then brag about how they’ll fix it next time?
With Democrats in charge of the Senate, expect the latter. That’s shameful. The left has preached for years about ending foreign interference in elections. It’s time to put their foreign money where their mouth is.
• Jason Snead is executive director of Honest Elections Project Action. Paul Teller is executive director of Advancing American Freedom.
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