State Senator Creigh Deeds declared, 'I believe that people should choose their representatives. Representatives shouldn't choose their people.' This statement underscores the traditional argument against gerrymandering, yet it serves as a prelude to the Democrats' call for aggressive redistricting.
As the Framers of the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment comprehended, representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote. Such a change would likely lead to a transfer of political influence away from urban areas that are younger and more racially diverse, and toward rural areas that are older and whiter.
The Trump administration has since poured billions of dollars into immigration enforcement, and in March, Trump issued an executive order requiring the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that states have "access to appropriate systems for verifying the citizenship or immigration status of individuals registering to vote or who are already registered." In May, DHS began encouraging states to check their voter rolls against immigration data with the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, run by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). SAVE now has access to data from across the federal government, not just on immigrants but on citizens as well.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act now dubbed the SAVE America Act narrowly passed the U.S. House last week, with all Republicans and one Democrat backing the bill. Its approval came about 10 months after House Republicans last passed the SAVE Act. The measure, which would transform voter registration and voting across the country, faces persistent hurdles in the GOP-led Senate due to Democratic disapproval and the 60-vote threshold to clear the legislative filibuster.