Washington, Dec 2 -

Today, Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02) introduced the Voter Integrity Act. This bill will prohibit federal funds from going to a local jurisdiction or state that permits voting by non-citizens.

“Local jurisdictions should not be receiving federal funds to have elections which contradict federal law,” said Poe. “United States citizenship is a privilege. Citizenship means something. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people, originally from all over the world, go through the U.S. naturalization process in order to become U.S. citizens so that they may earn the privileges and responsibilities that full U.S. citizenship grants them. Only lawful U.S. citizens should vote in elections in the United States.”

In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act which recognized the importance of U.S. citizenship, and prohibited non-citizens from voting in federal elections.  However, the law does not apply to state and local elections.

Due to this loophole, a number of local jurisdictions continue to allow people living here illegally to vote in some elections.  The Voter Integrity Act will not only protect the sanctity of voting in the United States, but will prevent government money from being spent in states that allow non-citizen voting.

Congressman Poe serves on the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Border Security; and Executive Member of the Immigration Reform Caucus. Prior to serving in Congress, Congressman Poe was a prosecutor and judge in Houston, Texas for 30 years.

Congressman Poe was joined by the following original cosponsors: Rep. Buck McKeon (CA-25), Rep. Joe Pitts (PA-16), Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Rep. Sam Johnson (TX-03), Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA-11), Rep. John Shadegg (AZ-03), Rep. Steve King (IA-05), Rep. Jack Kingston (GA-01), Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC-05) and Rep. John Culberson (TX-07).

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