JD Vance Dodges 2020 Question With Dubious Claim About Migrant Voting

JD Vance has dodged questions about the outcome of the 2020 election using claims that Democrats are blocking legislation to ensure “illegal aliens don’t vote in our election.”

The Republican vice presidential candidate faced scrutiny after his televised debate with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Wednesday as he failed to answer whether former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

Vance was asked the same question by an audience member at an event in Michigan on Wednesday. The Ohio senator pivoted, suggesting Congressional Democrats were trying to prevent instances of illegal voting by undocumented migrants.

“Why didn’t you answer the question last night during the debate about who won the 2020 presidential election?” the audience member asked.

“Well, look, here’s the simple reason: The media’s obsessed with talking about the election of four years ago,” Vance replied.

“I’m focused on the election of 33 days from now because I want to throw Kamala Harris out of office and get back to common sense economic policies.

“But I also think you can believe that America needs to have secure and free elections but also talk about the fact that just a couple of weeks ago, Democrats in the U.S. Congress blocked a piece of legislation that would have ensured illegal aliens don’t vote in our elections.”

Newsweek contacted a Vance media representative who said Vance was referring to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

“Democrats blocked that legislation during the spending fight that unfolded on Capitol Hill over the past few weeks,” the spokesperson said.

The SAVE Act, introduced by Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy, requires voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship at registration. The act passed by the House as a stand-alone bill in July is a GOP-led initiative that would mandate documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for federal election voter registration. This requirement comes despite existing laws prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

The act was included in Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s proposed six-month spending gap bill. However, that bill failed, with opposition from Democrats.

A three-month stopgap continuing resolution was proposed and passed, but it did not include the SAVE Act. Republicans who supported the act voted against the continuing resolution. Trump had instructed Republicans not to vote for the CR if it did not include the act.

The SAVE Act and similar legislation have been pushed by MAGA Republicans who claim they are trying to prevent undocumented migrants from voting in elections. However, undocumented migrants cannot vote in elections, and there is very little evidence of noncitizens voting being able to vote.

Newsweek’s Fact Check team has previously examined the scale of the alleged issue.

While some migrants may qualify for driver’s licenses and benefits through humanitarian parole programs, it is still illegal for them to vote even if they are provided with forms. The provision of a form is not a tacit approval to vote. Some of Johnson’s and similar claims about noncitizen voting have been debunked by PolitiFact, CNN, The Washington Post, and Reuters.

The number of reported cases of noncitizen voting is thought to be small. Research published by the Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 found that across 42 jurisdictions, among 23.5 million votes tabulated in the 2016 general elections, there were 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting—or around 0.0001 percent.

The House speaker has referred to a 2014 study based on 2008 and 2010 data from the Cooperative Election Study, which estimated that 6.4 percent of noncitizens voted in the 2008 general election and 2.2 percent in 2010.

However, as highlighted by The Washington Post, the study was criticized for using too small a data set and misclassifying information. The study’s author stood by its findings but criticized claims that had been extrapolated to other contests, such as the 2020 election, the Post said.

As it stands, 36 states already require identification to vote, while 14 other states and Washington, D.C., have “nondocumentary” ID requirements that require voters to verify their identity in other ways, including signing an affidavit or polling book or providing personal information.

The affidavit asserts that they are voting in the knowledge that falsely claiming eligibility is a criminal offense. They may also be required to provide a signature or biographical information such as names, addresses, and full or partial birth dates.

Election officials may also verify some states with nondocumentary requirements, such as by comparing signatures with those on voter registration forms.