By Benjamin Lynch |
Texas Senator Ted Cruz became embroiled in a spat with a former United States attorney when he backed proposed legislation from Alabama Senator Katie Britt by saying incorrectly that “illegal aliens” can vote in U.S. federal elections.
On the social-media app X, formerly known as Twitter, Cruz responded to a tweet from right-wing news website Daily Caller, linking to an article about Britt’s proposed framework to “prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections.”
“Illegal aliens should not be able to vote in federal elections,” Cruz posted. “Period. This should not be controversial.”
Joy Vance, the former United States attorney for the Northern District of Alabama appointed by ex-President Barack Obama, said the legislation, as well as the tweet, acted as “another example of the GOP making up a fake problem & focusing people on it instead of real issues like gun violence or climate change.” Newsweek approached Cruz’s office via email for comment on Friday.
Cruz responded “Utterly false. Receipts:” and showed two pictures of articles that were about legislation passed, giving non-US citizens the right to vote in local elections. The first was an article by ABC7 in December 2021 titled ‘NYC Council passes bill giving voting rights to non-citizens.’ It referenced a bill passed by New York City Council that allowed “people who have lived in the city for at least 30 days and are legal permanent residents in the United States” to vote in citywide elections.
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