Speaker Johnson claims SAVE Act needed to stop 'millions' of noncitizens from voting, ignoring evidence it's already illegal and virtually nonexistent

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the SAVE Act by claiming it was necessary to prevent 'millions of noncitizens' from voting, echoing Trump's debunked claims. Johnson stated the bill would 'safeguard our elections' from a threat that statistically does not exist. Federal law has prohibited noncitizen voting since 1996, with severe penalties including deportation. State audits consistently find negligible cases: Georgia (20 out of 8.2 million), Utah (1 out of 2.1 million), Iowa (35 over 10 years). Johnson and GOP leadership ignored these statistics, instead promoting the false narrative that Democrats were registering illegal immigrants en masse. The Brennan Center noted that the real impact would fall on the 21 million American citizens who lack readily accessible citizenship documentation and the 69 million women with name mismatches due to marriage. Voting rights advocates called the rhetoric a 'manufactured crisis' designed to justify laws that would suppress legitimate voter turnout rather than address any actual problem. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) stated: 'There is no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting. This bill solves a problem that doesn't exist while creating real barriers for American citizens.'

"There is no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting. This bill solves a problem that doesn't exist while creating real barriers for American citizens." — Rep. Zoe Lofgren during House SAVE Act debate, February 11, 2026