GOP senators slam federal government for not complying with requests for citizenship voter data

Iowa GOP Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst criticized the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for not turning over requested information on citizenship voter data. 

Ernst and Grassley sent a letter to the organization requesting information on 2,176 potential noncitizens in Iowa that might vote in the upcoming election. 

The deadline for giving the information to the senators was Nov. 1.

“Anything short of the information Secretary Paul Pate requested is unacceptable. Iowa has worked in good faith to secure its electoral process and safeguard Americans’ cherished right to vote," Grassley and Ernst said in a joint emailed statement. 

"Unfortunately, USCIS’ stonewalling has led to more questions than answers," the statement continued. "The Iowa Secretary of State has assured us protections are in place to ensure all legally registered voters’ ballots are counted. It is paramount that the federal government provide Iowa election officials the requested information so they can accurately discern which individuals ought to be casting provisional ballots."

Noncitizens voting in elections has been a major concern among Republicans, and the House even passed the SAVE Act, which requires that people must provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

The SAVE Act has not passed, nor even been taken up in the Democrat-controlled Senate.