New Tennessee Bill Would Require Counties To Check Voter Rolls For Illegal Aliens

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

With the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) expansion of no-cost accessibility to the systematic alien verification for entitlement (SAVE) program to be available to any state election official down to the county level, two conservative lawmakers have introduced a bill which would require counties to check and maintain voter rolls against the SAVE database.

Per the DHS, SAVE is an online service for government agencies to verify immigration status and U.S. citizenship of applicants seeking benefits or licenses.

Existing law already requires the state’s coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database to the department of safety’s database to ensure non-U.S. citizens are not registered to vote in the state and notify county election officials of any registered voters who may not be citizens. 

However, comparison to the voter rolls to any federal agencies, the SAVE program database, or county records to check for citizenship is only optional. 

While not changing the requirements for the coordinator of elections, HB1897/SB2124 would increase accountability at the local level by mandating county election commissions check each applicant who registers to vote against the SAVE program database prior to placing them on the voter rolls “to ensure non-United States citizens are not registered to vote in the county.”

The bill would also require counties to check their entire voter registration list through the SAVE database at least once each quarter “to ensure non-United States citizens are not on the voter rolls in the county.”

Sponsored by Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill-District 92) and Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16), this bill could help increase election integrity by making sure local voter rolls are being more consistently and thoroughly examined and increase the frequency of purges so that non-eligible voters are removed from the rolls faster.

The bill was only recently filed in both chambers, so it does not yet have any committee assignments.

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.