House Republicans have released a new package of election security bills ahead of the 2026 midterms.
House Republicans have released a new package of election security bills ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), chair of the Republican Study Committee, introduced three bills this week to strengthen election security.
“The overwhelming foreign influence that took place in past elections clearly indicates that we must take protecting our elections from noncitizens more seriously,” Pfluger said in a Jan. 31 statement on X.
Pfluger’s entire package is co-sponsored by four GOP lawmakers. Here is a breakdown of Plunger’s package, which is comprised of three bills prohibiting noncitizens from voting in Washington D.C., preventing noncitizens from administering elections, and ensuring only citizens can vote in U.S. elections.
The first bill aims to prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from “voting in elections in the District of Columbia and to repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022,” according to its text.
In 2022, the D.C. City Council advanced a bill that allowed noncitizens over the age of 18 to vote in local elections as long as they lived in the district for at least 30 days ahead of the local election. The bill allowed noncitizens to vote for positions in the city, including mayor, council member, and attorney general. The rule did not apply to federal elections.
The House voted to nullify the D.C. law last year, but the proposal was never taken up in the Senate.
“Free and fair elections are a prerequisite for a healthy republic, Pfluger said in a statement in May 2024 about the bill. “The radical D.C. Council decision to allow noncitizens—including illegal aliens and foreign agents—to vote in elections dilutes the voting power of the citizen voter. My legislation restores the sanctity of the voting process and ensures that only American citizens are voting in our Nation’s capital.”
The second bill would prohibit noncitizens from serving as election administrators. Currently, noncitizens can serve on election commissions throughout the country, even though they are not legally allowed to vote in the United States.
Pfluger’s bill would bar the hiring of individuals who are not U.S. citizens to administer an election for federal office in state or local jurisdictions.The third bill proposes an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits individuals who are not citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents of the United States from voting in elections.
A federal law passed in 1996 bans noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and those who vote illegally face a fine, imprisonment, or deportation. However, it doesn’t stop states or municipalities from allowing noncitizens the right to vote in local elections.
From NTD News