Exclusive: Tuberville Warns 'We're Going to Lose the Damn Country' if We Don't Bust Filibuster, Pass SAVE America Act

While the results of the marquee primary contests in California are still unknown, and may remain unknown, if history is any guide, for weeks, there is one thing we know for sure: California’s entire election system is rigged, and, as a result, California’s elections will not be fair and secure until changes are made. Enacting the SAVE America Act would be a perfect start.

Over the last generation, California’s Democrats have made significant changes to election laws and procedures. Each reform was sold as nonpartisan, an example of good government at work. Each came wrapped in the language of fairness, transparency, independence, moderation, and democracy.

And each, not incidentally, tilted the playing field further to the left and further toward the Democrats.

TURNING POINT THREATENS TO PRIMARY JOHN THUNE IF SAVE AMERICA ACT DOES NOT PASS

It began when voters passed Proposition 11 in 2008 and Proposition 20 in 2010 to take the state legislative district and congressional district line-drawing power out of the hands of lawmakers and put it instead in the hands of an independent redistricting commission, a change that simply moved power from Democrat elected officials to liberal activists (who worked closely with Democrat elected officials) who drew the same gerrymandered maps, now under the guise of an independent citizens’ commission.

In 2010, voters approved Proposition 14 and left partisan primary elections behind for a “top two” system where all candidates appear on one primary ballot and, if none receive at least 50% of the vote, the top two finishers go on to the general election, regardless of party.

In 2014, California voters approved Proposition 52, allowing for same-day registration.

In 2016, the state legislature and governor enacted Senate Bill 450, the “Voter’s Choice Act,” allowing participating counties to mail ballots automatically to every registered voter on the rolls; in 2020, election officials cited COVID-19 as a reason to mail every registered voter in the state a ballot; and in 2021, Assembly Bill 37 made universal vote-by-mail permanent, so that in Tuesday’s election, virtually every registered voter on the rolls received a ballot in the mail. Ballots postmarked by Election Day and received up to a week after Election Day will still count.

Assembly Bill 1921, also enacted in 2016, removed previous restrictions on who could return another person’s ballot; now, virtually any designated individual can collect and deliver completed ballots.

The Voter’s Choice Act referenced above also required multiple days of early voting and allowed voting at voting centers rather than assigning voters to designated precincts.

None of these changes, by themselves, guaranteed the Democrats’ victory. But together they fundamentally changed how California elections were conducted. They made it much easier to vote and gave a built-in advantage to the party that already had a numerical registration advantage, which happened to be the Democrats.

Meanwhile, even as they were changing election laws, Sacramento Democrats were making life easier for illegal immigrants in California. In 2013, Assembly Bill 60 became law, and California’s Department of Motor Vehicles was authorized to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

Two years later, then-Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) signed into law Assembly Bill 1461, the “California New Motor Voter Act,” which created the state’s automatic voter registration system, under which eligible registrants are automatically registered to vote when they obtain or update their driver’s license.

It does not take a degree from Stanford University to see the potential problems that could be created by the interplay of these two laws alone, especially not when one considers that California is home to an estimated 2.25 million illegal immigrants (as of 2023, midway through the flood of illegal immigrants who arrived during the Biden-Mayorkas regime), which is about 10% of the number of registered voters in the state.

According to state officials, more than a million illegal immigrants in California have been issued driver’s licenses. Is it possible that any of them have been added to the voter rolls, either by mistake or deliberately?

Here’s the thing: All of California’s election reforms have two things in common, they make voting easier, even as they make verifying eligibility harder. And with the state being home to more illegal immigrants than any other state, concerns about noncitizen voting are perfectly reasonable, in fact, it would be unreasonable not to be concerned.

OPINION, WOMEN’S VOICES MATTER: PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT

That’s where the SAVE America Act comes in. Enacting and implementing the SAVE America Act, which requires state officials to obtain documentary proof of citizenship before registering a new voter, and which requires a voter to show a photo ID when voting, would ease the qualms of many Californians and non-Californians alike, who share a concern for election integrity in our nation’s most populous state.

Election integrity isn’t just about catching people who commit voter fraud. It’s about preventing fraud in the first place, to maintain public confidence in our election system. Passing the SAVE America Act would go a long way to ensuring election integrity in California and across the nation.

Jenny Beth Martin is chairwoman of Tea Party Patriots Action.