Dear Mr./Ms. President,

In recent years there has been an alarming issue uncovered in the American election process. No, I’m not talking about voting booth glitches, voter registration problems, or even complaints of corruption at the polling place. The issue I will be addressing is the non-citizen voter fraud which has only increased in scale recently.

According to Tom Fitton of the Judicial Watch, the percentage of non-citizens in America is quickly approaching 15%. These non-citizen voters have the potential to swing close elections one way or the other. In Colorado, secretary of state Scott Gessler discovered that 5,000 non-citizens voted in the 2010 general elections and an additional 12,000 were registered to vote but did not. In the upcoming presidential elections Colorado will be one of the most important swing states. Twelve thousand voters certainly have the potential to decide the race in that state.

Non-citizen voting has always been a contentious issue in America. This past April the Supreme Court ruled that non-citizens would be counted during redistricting, as the Constitution states that all residents (not just legal citizens) should be counted in the census. Many would use this ruling to claim that this means non-citizens should in fact be able to vote. However, being counted in a census and being a legal, voting, citizen are two very different things. The ability to vote on and decide who runs the federal government should be a privilege given only to the legal citizens of this country. To uphold the law and guarantee that our elections remain legitimate, I implore that you pressure Congress into passing legislation that would implement a proof of citizenship at the polling place.

A proof of citizenship will greatly decrease the number of non-citizens who vote illegally and preserve the legitimacy of our elections. Most recently, Arizona and Kansas have attempted to implement the proof of citizenship requirements. The Supreme Court has ruled this unconstitutional, citing that it could restrict the right to vote for legal citizen. However, proof of citizenship for those born in the U.S. requires only a birth certificate, and for legal immigrants their naturalization papers. The small inconvenience caused to legal voters is insignificant when compared to the increased legitimacy it would bring to our elections. Stricter voting rights will not infringe on any citizen’s right to vote. I believe that all U.S. citizens should vote, but allowing non-citizens to vote lessens the significance of voting as an American citizen. Mr./Mrs. President, I request that you do all in your power to rectify this issue and ensure that the power of the vote remains exclusive to American citizens.

Respectfully,

Jonathan C. R.