# Plain Language Summary: Voter Integrity Protection Act

This bill makes it a serious federal crime for people who are in the country illegally to vote in federal elections, and it treats this crime as an "aggravated felony" under immigration law. Currently, voting while unlawfully present is already illegal, but this bill reclassifies it as a more serious category of offense. The practical effect is that if someone who is in the country without legal status votes in a federal election and gets caught, they would face not just regular criminal charges but also automatic deportation proceedings with very limited options to fight it.

The bill creates two main consequences for this offense. First, it makes unlawful voting an "aggravated felony," which is immigration law's most serious category of crime. This matters because people convicted of aggravated felonies lose almost all legal protections and appeals in deportation cases—they essentially have no way to stay in the country. Second, the bill explicitly makes this a "deportable offense," meaning immigration authorities can use a conviction for voting while unlawfully present as grounds to remove someone from the United States.

In practical terms, this bill affects non-citizens who are in the country without legal authorization. If they vote in any federal election and are discovered, they would face criminal prosecution followed by deportation with minimal legal recourse. The bill doesn't change who can vote or how voting works for citizens; rather, it increases the penalties for non-citizens who attempt to vote illegally. Supporters argue this strengthens election integrity by creating harsher consequences for illegal voting, while critics might question whether this addresses a significant problem or creates disproportionate consequences for a relatively rare offense.

Voter Integrity Protection Act

Biggs, Andy

Voter Integrity Protection Act This bill imposes additional immigration-related penalties for non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who vote in an election for federal office. It shall be an aggravated felony for a non-U.S. national who is unlawfully present to violate an existing prohibition against a non-U.S. national voting in a federal election. (An aggravated felony conviction carries various immigration consequences, such as rendering the non-U.S. national inadmissible, deportable, and barred from establishing good moral character for naturalization.) A non-U.S. national who is unlawfully present and who knowingly violates the prohibition against voting in a federal election shall be deportable.