Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order on Monday that would ban non-citizens from voting. The order requires that voter registration forms “explicitly state” that only citizens can vote.
The governor signed the order at an event with Secretary of State Nancy Landry and Attorney General Liz Murill and called the federal government’s border policy dysfunctional. He said 7.8 million people were smuggled into the country last year under the Biden-Harris administration.
Secretary Landry also condemned Biden’s executive order from three years ago. Biden’s order was intended to help federal agencies promote voter registration, but came under scrutiny in the run-up to the November election. Republicans complain that the order lacks transparency. Secretary Landry compared it to an “election campaign.”
“Despite my efforts and the efforts of my colleagues across the country to demand answers from the Biden administration on how it is implementing this executive order, we have been ignored time and time again,” she said.
Under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, people applying for welfare or a driver’s license must also obtain a voter registration form. Under Governor Landry’s executive order, each registration form will now include the following disclaimer from the Secretary of State: “The Louisiana Constitution prohibits noncitizens from registering and voting. Therefore, it is illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in Louisiana.”
“We know that illegal immigrants in the United States are eligible for federal benefits,” Landry said. “We will make sure that when they walk through the door to receive the federal benefits they are entitled to, they know that they cannot vote or register to vote in Louisiana.”
The Executive Order also requires the States Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) to provide the Secretary of State with a list of all noncitizens and nonpermanent residents of Louisiana who apply for a driver’s license or identification card. More than 40,000 noncitizens in Louisiana have temporary identification cards, but the Secretary of State already uses data from the OMV and Social Security Administration to verify voter eligibility and matches that information with citizenship questionnaires given to jurors.
Secretary Landry referred to the state of Virginia, where she said over 6,000 non-citizens were removed from the state’s voter rolls, although unclear NBC reported that these deportations were due to non-citizen voter registration or paperwork errors.
In Louisiana, only 48 noncitizens have been purged from the voter rolls since 2022. The Heritage Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, ranks the state 10th in the nation in election integrity, raising doubts about the need for the executive order.
“Every election season there are several races that are decided by fewer than 48 votes, including my first election, which was decided by 33 votes,” said Secretary Landry. “I will not allow confidence to turn into complacency.”
In Louisiana, noncitizen voter registration is a crime and offenders face prison sentences or deportation.
“I will review all credible evidence against individuals attempting to register non-U.S. citizens to vote,” Murill said, although she was unsure what penalties the 48 non-citizens would face.
Governor Landry’s order follows a package of bills passed this year that seek to tighten Louisiana’s election laws, including stricter rules on voting by mail and requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
“Every time an illegal immigrant votes, a citizen’s vote is invalidated,” said Governor Landry. “That means American citizens are deprived of their right to vote.”
