There is no epidemic of noncitizens voting in our elections. Federal law already bars it, and despite repeated allegations by a number of prominent conservative figures, hunts for violators have turned up next to nothing.

Yet President Donald Trump continues to aggressively push for passage of his SAVE Act, a bill that would require every American to show a passport or birth certificate in person just to register to vote, effectively ending online and mail-in registration. Framed as a fraud-prevention measure, I expect the bill would ultimately do far more to keep eligible citizens off voter rolls than to stop alleged noncitizen voting. And then there’s what Trump expects: he has said that the SAVE Act would “guarantee the midterms” for Republicans, who, he’s promised, “will not lose an election for 100 years.”

But the SAVE Act should scare voters across the political spectrum. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. They are the primary mechanism by which we select our leaders and hold them accountable. When any politician—whose access to power depends on election outcomes—repeatedly casts doubt on election integrity without evidence,........

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