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Our friends at America First Legal (AFL) have filed a formal petition with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) urging it to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship (DPOC) to register to vote in federal elections. We urge CHQ readers and friends to use the link in this article to submit comments in support of requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), frequently called the “Motor Voter Law,” created a single federal form that all states are required to accept and use for voter registration for federal elections. The EAC is responsible for maintaining and, as necessary, amending this form.
The federal form is required to collect information “necessary to enable the appropriate State election official to assess the eligibility of the applicant.” Despite this, it only requires applicants to check a box affirming they are U.S. citizens. The form does not require any verification that applicants are telling the truth, other than the applicant’s signature attesting that the information they have provided is true. The form does nothing to prevent criminal dishonesty.
In other words, it relies entirely on the “honor system,” trusting that all illegal alien applicants attempting to register to vote — who are already committing a crime — will somehow choose to be honest when deciding which box to check on the voter registration form.
This commonsense requirement would strengthen election integrity by ensuring that only U.S. citizens can vote in U.S. elections. Requiring DPOC to be submitted with the form would require applicants to submit documents proving U.S. citizenship, such as Real ID driver’s licenses, military ID, and passports when registering to vote.
A DPOC requirement is a commonsense measure to assess a voter’s eligibility. Several states, including Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, and Kansas, have taken measures to require DPOC to register to vote, but various legal challenges have blocked these laws from taking full effect.
Now, time is running out! The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is reviewing America First Legal’s (AFL) petition to require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship (DPOC) for voter registration. Your comment is critical to ensure only American citizens vote in our elections.
Non-citizens on voter rolls and legal challenges to state DPOC laws expose weaknesses in our system. As AFL’s Senior Counsel James Rogers stated, “The EAC must act to protect our democracy.” Don’t miss your chance to make a difference.
Act Now
- Go to www.regulations.gov, search for docket EAC-2025-0236-000 and click “Comment.”
- Share your support for DPOC.
- Submit and share with your network.
- See https://www.regulations.gov/commenting-guidance for details.
Examples of Powerful Comments
- I strongly support the proposed rule change to mandate documentary proof of U.S. citizenship on the federal voter registration form. This is not a mere formality but an essential safeguard to enforce federal law prohibiting noncitizen voting. The current system’s lack of robust verification from registration to ballot casting undermines election integrity, and requiring documents like a passport, birth certificate, or REAL ID-compliant ID is a straightforward, necessary step to ensure only citizens vote.
- As Rep. Chip Roy has pointed out, the current federal voter registration form relies on a single, unverified checkbox for citizenship—a glaring vulnerability that invites abuse. Documentary proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate, is critical to close this gap and ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens can register to vote in federal elections.
- The absence of documentary proof has measurable consequences. A 2014 nonpartisan study estimated that 6.4% of noncitizens voted in the 2008 election. With approximately 23 million noncitizens in the U.S. today, this could translate to over 1.5 million illegal votes in 2024—enough to tip the scales in battleground states. Requiring documents like military records, adoption decrees, or hospital birth extracts would prevent such risks and protect the sanctity of our elections.
- Critics claiming this requirement burdens 21 million citizens ignore the rule’s practical and inclusive design. Acceptable proofs include widely available documents: a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, a birth certificate with a photo ID, a passport, a military service record, or a naturalization certificate. For those facing challenges, such as lost documents or name changes, the rule allows attestation under penalty of perjury with later submission of evidence, verified through federal databases like DHS’s SAVE system or SSA records. Provisional ballots further ensure no eligible voter is excluded. Sen. Mike Lee has aptly called opposition to these measures “extreme,” as documentary proof is a minimal, common-sense requirement to prevent noncitizen voting while safeguarding citizens’ rights.
- The Biden Administration’s 2021 Executive Order 14019 has heightened the urgency for documentary proof by directing federal agencies, including those at the border, to promote voter registration without citizenship verification. With nearly 10 million illegal crossings since then and driver’s licenses issued to noncitizens in all states (including 19 to undocumented immigrants), none of which indicate citizenship status, the lack of documentary proof creates a dangerous loophole. As Cleta Mitchell of the Election Integrity Network has warned, such lax systems enable noncitizen voting and erode trust in our elections. Documentary proof is the only reliable way to ensure compliance with federal law.
- Mandating documentary proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form is a nonpartisan necessity to uphold the constitutional principle that only U.S. citizens may vote. This rule is a critical step to close vulnerabilities, restore confidence in our electoral process, and protect democracy. I urge the EAC to adopt this requirement immediately.
As a result, Arizona’s voter registration rolls include voters who are fully registered to vote in both state and federal elections (those who have provided DPOC), and voters who can only vote in federal elections (those who have not provided DPOC). Currently, Arizona has over 40,000 voters who have not provided DPOC registered to vote in federal elections — nearly four times the margin of victory listed in the official results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.
Illegal aliens voting in U.S. elections is not a hypothetical issue. In Pennsylvania, a 2018 lawsuit revealed over 100,000 aliens registered to vote, and one city official found that at least 90 aliens had actually cast ballots in a Philadelphia election. Similarly, in 2019, Texas identified nearly 100,000 possible foreigners on their voter rolls, of which around 58,000 may have voted in previous elections. Since 2021, Texas has removed over 6,500 potential foreign citizens from its voter rolls. Of those 6,500 foreign citizens, 1,930 actually voted. Additionally, survey data suggests that a significant proportion of aliens may be illegally registered to vote.
Act Now
- Go to www.regulations.gov, search for docket EAC-2025-0236-000 and click “Comment.”
- Share your support for DPOC.
- Submit and share with your network.
- America First Legal (AFL)
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
- Citizens-only vote
- illegal immigration
- Voter ID laws
- Proof of citizenship
- federal elections
- National Voter Registration Act of 1993
- Motor Voter law
- Voter eligibility
- Verification
- Elections integrity
- Real ID
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