Five Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill requiring that a person be a U.S. citizen in order to vote in U.S. elections. 

This is according to a report from Fox News.

221-198

The five Democrats to support the measure, according to the outlet, are U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar,  (D-TX), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Jared Golden (D-ME), Don Davis (D-NC), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA).

These Democrats helped the bill to pass through the House by a final vote of 221-198.

On the one hand, you could say that it is good for Republicans and for America that some Democrats were willing to reach across the aisle on this issue. But, on the other hand, you can say that it is bad news for this country that only five House Democrats were willing to support something so fundamental as a citizenship requirement for voting.

The SAVE Act

The legislation that passed through the House is called the SAVE Act - or the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

The Associated Press reports that the bill requires individuals registering to vote in U.S. elections to prove their U.S. citizenship.

Republicans, in particular, have long argued that one of the main reasons why Democrats support open border policies is in order to build up their voter base. This bill looks to cut back on voting by illegal aliens in U.S. elections.

Why are the Democrats against the SAVE Act?

Democrats both in Congress and in the White House have strongly come out against the SAVE act.

This, according to them, is not necessarily because they are against the citizenship requirement, but because laws preventing non-citizens from voting in U.S. elections already exist.

The problem, though - and the reason why the SAVE Act is needed - is because these laws are not working. As the Associated Press was forced to admit, "Research and audits in several states show there have been incidences of noncitizens who successfully registered to vote and cast ballots . . ."

"Democrats have now proven . . ."

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), following the passage of the bill) argued that the refusal of 198 House Democrats to vote for the SAVE proves that they want illegal aliens voting in U.S. elections.

"House Republicans believe that only Americans should vote in American elections. House Democrats have now proven they believe that illegal aliens should vote in American elections," he said.

The SAVE Act will now head to the U.S. Given that the upper chamber is controlled by the Democrats, it is unlikely to go any further.