Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

While Senate Republicans Block Efforts to Register Citizens, Padilla Blocks Their Efforts to Pass Anti-Voter SAVE Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the anniversary of President Clinton signing the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) into law, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and California’s former Secretary of State, spoke on the Senate floor to push for the unanimous passage of his legislation to improve voter registration services at naturalization ceremonies. The Including New Voters In The Electorate (INVITE) Act would designate United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices as voter registration agencies under the National Voter Registration Act, requiring USCIS staff to help new U.S. citizens complete their voter registration forms and return them to the appropriate state agency following their naturalization.

U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) objected to Padilla’s attempt to pass the bill by unanimous consent. Lee instead attempted to unanimously pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, to which Padilla strongly objected to prevent the potential disenfranchisement of millions of eligible American citizens. 

Senator Padilla highlighted the success of NVRA, also known as the “Motor Voter Act,” in registering voters at Departments of Motor Vehicles, military recruitment offices and public agencies that manage programs like SNAP and Medicaid. He pushed for NVRA to extend to naturalization ceremonies, helping secure the fundamental right to vote in our democracy for the country’s newest eligible citizens.

• “We should all believe in that most basic of lessons that I believe we all learned in high school civics class: that our democracy works best when as many eligible people participate.”

• “One other place that the National Voter Registration Act can and should extend to is naturalization ceremonies — giving new eligible United States citizens the information they need to register to vote should they want to.”

Padilla emphasized that naturalized citizens are among the most patriotic Americans, detailing his own background as the proud son of immigrants.

• “If you’ve never had the opportunity to attend one before, I can tell you personally: there are few experiences that give you more of that patriotic feeling than inside the four walls of a naturalization ceremony. If you’ve ever had doubts or questions about what it means to be an American, I encourage you to talk to and ask a newly naturalized citizen.”

• “As I think about the people who go through the process, I can’t help but also think about my parents, because they went through the naturalization process. And when I see the dozens or hundreds of immigrants becoming citizens, I envision what their preparation was like because it was very similar no doubt to what my parents did. Taking classes, studying, showing up at every important appointment, filling out all those forms. And on the day they finally take the oath of allegiance, they earn the full benefits of United States citizenship.”

• “So it was an honor and a privilege to be able to address those audiences as Secretary of State, and encourage them not just to get involved in community, but to register to vote and exercise their new right to vote.”

USCIS does not consistently offer newly eligible citizens the opportunity to register to vote at naturalization ceremonies, and even more rarely offers them assistance in filling out and returning their voter registration forms. Padilla stressed that just 61 percent of all naturalized U.S. citizens were registered to vote during the November 2022 election (the most recent available data), compared to 70 percent of citizens born in the United States. He urged his colleagues to join him in passing the INVITE Act to help rectify this disparity.

• “My bill would use the powers of the National Voter Registration Act to designate USCIS field offices as voter registration agencies — effectively giving our field staff not just the opportunity, but the duty to help new eligible United States citizens register to vote. Rather than just hand out a form, it would empower USCIS personnel to actually assist new citizens in completing and returning their voter registration forms.”

• “Let me just say to everyone who regularly expresses concern about noncitizens voting. I would suggest, what better place to make sure citizens are registered than at a naturalization ceremony?”

• “The responsibilities that come with citizenship don’t end upon taking the oath of citizenship. That’s just the beginning. So I urge all of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, to join me in supporting this commonsense bill to invest in and strengthen our democracy.”

The INVITE Act would maintain USCIS’ flexibility to work with state voter registration agencies and nonpartisan voter registration organizations, and it would allow the agency to develop and implement plans with each state to carry out this important work. 

Specifically, designating USCIS field offices under the National Voter Registration Act would require them to:

• Work with states to develop and implement a plan to distribute voter registration information and forms to new citizens following naturalization,
• Offer assistance to new citizens in filling out the voter registration application, and
• Transmit the completed application to the appropriate state election official or agency.

Senator Padilla believes that our democracy is strongest when every eligible American participates. He is a champion for stronger voting rights, bipartisan election administration reforms, and increased funding to modernize and secure our elections. Padilla has led the charge opposing President Trump and Republicans’ reckless attempts to restrict the right to vote. Last week, he convened a Rules Committee Democrats spotlight hearing focused on Congressional Republicans’ SAVE Act and Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order, both of which threaten to disenfranchise millions of eligible American citizens. As President Trump marked 100 disastrous days in office, Padilla also recently led his Democratic colleagues on the Senate floor to speak out against the SAVE Act and attacks on election integrity. Last month, Padilla warned Secretaries of State, Lieutenant Governors, and Chief Election Officials across the country of the devastating potential impacts of the SAVE Act, concerns that have been echoed by top election officials across the country.

Additionally, Padilla led 11 Senators in introducing the Defending America’s Future Elections Act to repeal Trump’s illegal anti-voter executive order and prevent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive voter registration data and state records. Padilla previously led 14 Democratic Senators in calling on Trump to revoke his illegal anti-voter executive order and issued a statement slamming the order when it was announced.

Video of Senator Padilla’s full remarks on the INVITE Act is available here.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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