Respect Citizenship: Don't Let Illegals Vote

The U.S. Constitution only speaks to voting in federal elections. It's silent on voting requirements and protocols for state and local elections.

The Constitution addresses voting and requirements for congressional and presidential elections and speaks to the rights of citizens to vote generally in federal elections.

Ratified in 1791, the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Therein lies the voting conundrum. The Constitution is clear that only "citizens" are eligible to vote in federal elections, yet non-citizens may be able to vote in state and local elections — if state law allows it. Therefore, legal and non-legal aliens are eligible to vote in state and local elections in states permitting non-citizen voting.

In 1996, in an effort to strengthen federal voting integrity, Congress passed a law that the president signed. A law providing penalties for non-citizens voting in federal elections.

There is a problem with granting non-citizens the vote in state and local elections.

The federal government relies on states to administer federal elections. That means states register voters at the local level, maintain voter roles, and set rules for voting in federal, state, and local elections.

There aren’t two sets of records — one for state and local elections and one for federal elections. There is clear and present danger that because voting records are co-mingled — non-citizens may vote in federal elections because they appear on state and local voting records as duly "registered voters."

Since 1926, no state has allowed non-citizens to vote in state elections, but that does not mean it will not happen in the future. Today, there are 11 local governments allowing non-citizens to vote. In Maryland, 10 local governments permit such voting in all local elections. San Francisco, Calif. allows non-citizens parents to vote in school board elections.

The co-mingling of voter records by local governments that allow for non-resident voting could taint federal elections, causing both illegal and unintended results.

The federal government must protect the integrity of its own elections by setting forth — by law — what states are required to do in the administration of federal elections.

With over 12 million or more non-citizens illegally living and working in the U.S. there is a real danger that voter fraud is occurring during federal, state, and local elections. There is waste, fraud, and abuse in every government program — it is simply a matter and question of degree.

So, you can bet that if there is fraud in Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and welfare by non-citizens, there is likely also to be fraud in voting registrations and voting nationally as well.

This is why it is vitally important for our nation to get a handle on voting integrity by federal, state, and local officials working together to institute uniform standards of record keeping, sharing, administration, voter registration, and voting protocols.

When a state's right infringes on a federal constitutional right — there is a serious problem, one which must be addressed immediately by Congress and/or the courts.

Today, we have 50 different states with 50 different and convoluted standards and protocols for both registration and voting. This is an invitation for voter fraud and voter disenfranchisement.

If states and local governments want to allow non-citizens to vote that is their business, as long as as their laws are not at odds with the Constitution.

Voting in federal, state and local elections should be an exclusive right to citizens only, and only those invested, as citizens with all the rights and obligations thereto, should have the right to vote. Transients should not be accorded a citizen's rights and privileges.

Bradley Blakeman was a member of President George W. Bush's senior White House staff from 2001 to 2004. He is also a frequent contributor to Fox News and Fox Business Channel. He currently is a Principal with the 1600group.com a consulting company. — Click Here Now.