While all 50 states require people to be U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in federal elections, and federal law forbids non-citizens from falsely claiming citizenship to register to vote, the enforcement of these laws has been lacking in recent years.

The SAVE Act, HR22, amends the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to require states to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity – in person – when registering an individual to vote in a Federal election.

It requires states to establish a program to remove non-citizens from their existing voter rolls and gives states no-cost access to Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration databases to do so.

It empowers citizens to bring civil suits against election officials that fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements for Federal elections and adds penalties for election officials that register non-citizens to vote in Federal elections.

And it directs the Election Assistance Commission to promptly update any guidance associated with the SAVE Act and streamlines updates to federal forms by exempting the updates from the Paperwork Reduction Act.

I am one of the more than 80% of voting Americans who believe in safe and secure elections, and am asking you to be a strong "YES" when it comes to up for a vote.