Republicans Only Now Catching On?

The New York Post ran a story the other day entitled: "How non-citizens are getting voter registration forms across the US — and how Republicans are trying to stop it." From the lede:

    Welfare offices and other agencies in 49 US states are providing voter registration forms to migrants without requiring proof of citizenship, leading Republicans and conservatives to call for swift federal action to stop the handouts.

    Every state but Arizona — which recently passed a law barring the practice on state but not federal forms — gives applicants for either welfare benefits, driver’s licenses, or in some cases, mail-in ballots voter registration forms without demanding proof of citizenship.

    There is currently no requirement on federal voting forms to provide proof of US citizenship, though it is illegal to falsely claim one is a citizen or for a non-citizen to cast a ballot in a federal election.

    But millions of migrants with humanitarian parole, refugee or asylum status are eligible for benefits that would bring them to the offices where voter registration takes place.

But here is the thing: Republicans helped make this the law. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (often referred to at the time as the "Motor-Voter Law") requires that the federal government and state agencies to make voter registration forms available to people applying for driver licenses and welfare benefits without requiring proof of citizenship. 

    This is just another example of Republicans not bothering to read or consider the implications of laws for which they vote. And certainly Republicans, when they've controlled both Congress and the White House, haven't bothered to pass laws to make it more difficult for non-citizens to vote. Now the Republicans are attempting to pass a law requiring proof of citizenship, according to the article, but they are not going to get it passed with a Democrat controlled Senate and President. I think they purposefully wait for such times so they can go to their base and say "we tried" even though they never had any intention of fixing the issue.