Voter Integrity Protection Act
The Voter Integrity Protection Act is a bill that would tie voting by unlawfully present noncitizens in federal elections to immigration penalties. Specifically, it would add a new aggravated felony category for an offense described in 18 U.S.C. § 611 (a voting-related offense) when committed by an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States. In addition, the bill would treat knowingly voting in violation of that same federal voting statute as a deportable offense. In short, the measure seeks to deter unlawful voting by noncitizens by increasing immigration consequences (deportation and the aggravated felony designation) for those who commit such voting offenses in federal elections. The bill does not change who may vote or how federal elections are conducted; it reframes certain unlawful voting actions by unlawfully present individuals as serious immigration crimes with removal consequences. It relies on existing federal statutes for the specific voting offense and expands their reach within the immigration enforcement framework.
Key Points
- 1Creates a new aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) for an offense described in 18 U.S.C. § 611 that is committed by an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States.
- 2Adds a deportable offense to the INA: an unlawfully present alien who knowingly commits a voting offense under 18 U.S.C. § 611 is deportable.
- 3Applies specifically to voting in federal elections by unlawfully present aliens.
- 4Uses the federal voting offense under 18 U.S.C. § 611 as the basis for both the aggravated felony designation and the deportability.
- 5Signals a stricter immigration consequence framework for unlawful voting, potentially increasing removal risk for those convicted of the relevant voting offense.