Free and fair elections are the foundation of everything this country is built on. Every decision that our government makes flows from one basic guarantee: that American citizens — and only American citizens — decide who represents them. Protecting that guarantee is one of the most important jobs we have. Last week in New Jersey, it was disclosed that more than 6,000 non-citizens had been added to the state’s voter rolls. In cities like New York, non-citizens have been allowed to vote in city elections. Radical leftists have called for voting free from any identification whatsoever. It’s for these reasons that it’s absolutely imperative for us to pass election safeguards like those contained in the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE America Act.

The SAVE America Act requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and photo identification to cast a ballot. It also allows states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls using federal databases. These are commonsense ideas that polls show are supported by 70% of voters. American elections should be decided by American citizens. That is the bedrock principle of the republic our Founders built, and it shouldn’t be up for debate.

Think about how much of everyday life already requires proving who you are. You need a photo ID to board a flight, open a bank account, and pick up a prescription at the pharmacy. Nobody calls that unreasonable. Yet, when it comes to proving your citizenship and identity before you help choose our government officials, Democrats in Congress cry and scream racism. But their false claims of racism never come up when a government ID is required at other places — only when we’re talking about voting. You don’t have to think too hard to figure out why: the more illegals and noncitizens that can vote, the better shot Democrat candidates believe they have at winning.

I’ve proudly voted for this legislation when the House of Representatives considered it because Southeast and South Central Missouri families deserve elections built on clear, consistently enforced rules. Now, because of Senate rules that have allowed Senate Democrats to block the legislation, I voted for a budget resolution that would fund many of the critical elements of the SAVE America Act. I won’t simply sit back and allow Senate Democrats to put illegal immigrants before American citizens and block this legislation from becoming law.

Requiring an ID and proof of citizenship to participate in U.S. elections is the bare minimum, and we need to pass this legislation so that bare minimum is met when electing our leaders.

It’s long past time for Senate Democrats to stop standing in the way of putting the SAVE America Act on the floor and sending this bill to the President’s desk. I’ll keep fighting until the SAVE America Act is signed into law, because trust in our elections isn’t optional.