Florida Congressman Gaetz Challenges Non-Citizen Voting with New Bill

Photo by Matt Gaetz, Facebook

Should illegal immigrants get to have a say in the presidential election of a country they do not belong to? Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz seems to believe that the answer is a strong no, as he filed the “Judicial Action to Impose Liability for Alien Voters Act", or the JAIL for Alien Voters Act, on October 29. 

His goal is to “transfer the criminal offense of voting by aliens from title 18, United States Code, to the Voting Rights Act of 1956”. In other words, he wants to amend it.

More specifically, the bill aims to amend Section 11 of the Voting Rights Act of 1956 so that it is illegal for any non-citizen to “vote in any election” that intends, at least in part, to elect “a candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner”.

The JAIL for Alien Voters Act provides three exceptions:

1. If the election has a secondary purpose besides choosing an above-mentioned candidate
2. If non-citizens have been given permission to vote for an alternate purpose under a particular state’s constitution or law or under a local authority
3. If non-citizens are voting for the purpose described in the second exception, then the non-citizen voting must be independent from any voting done in regard to choosing a candidate for a federal office.

This bill is also intended to increase penalties for illegal immigrants who unlawfully vote. It describes that any non-citizen caught voting would be fined up to $10,000, imprisoned for up to five years, or both.

Gaetz is the bill’s official sponsor. There are also seven other cosponsors including Representative Andy Biggs, Andrew Ogles, Mike Collins, Barry Moore, Claudia Tenney, Gregory W. Steube, and Vern Buchanan.

At this time, the JAIL for Alien Voters Act has been introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Click here to track this bill’s progress.

Article by Ema Tibbetts