Washington’s Voter Registration Debate Comes Home To Westchester

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Rep. Latimer rallies Democrats in White Plains

February 19, 2025

By Barrett Seaman–

The lower Hudson Valley‘s two Congressional Representatives were back in the county this week. The hot topic in meetings with local officials and voters was HR 22, the so-called Save Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility), which has the full support of Republicans and stiff opposition from Democrats (yes, you’ve seen this movie before). A revision of the Voting Rights Act of 1993, HR 22 would require voters to show proof of citizenship in the form of a birth certificate, passport or other government-issued identification—presented in person at a Board of Elections office.

Republicans say it is necessary to curb widespread voter fraud—particularly by undocumented immigrants. Democrats contend that it is a thinly-disguised form of voter suppression that places an undue burden on legitimate voters who may not have the required documentation or have difficulty getting to and from a Board of Elections site. At a press conference at White Plains’ Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, District 16 Congressman George Latimer argued that the bill was an attempt “to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”

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In Westchester, Latimer said, where some 500 immigrants were relocated before last year’s election, “there was not one incident where any of them tried to vote.” The county, he suggested, was a microcosm of the country as a whole. With a crowd of local Democrat officeholders and representatives of the ACLU and League of Women Voters to cheer him on despite sub-freezing conditions, Latimer called for the GOP leadership to pull the bill back and consider Democrat demands that “voters whose citizenship is not in question be allowed to modify their status by mail.”

A couple of blocks away, District 17 Republican Representative Mike Lawler sparred with the Democrat-dominated Board of Legislators over the same bill. At one point, José Alvarado, vice chair of the board, hypothetically posed, “somebody that looks like me, right, is approached by ICE. What would your immediate expectation be for me to do?”

“Well, like every other person that is engaged by law enforcement, if you are asked for information, cooperate,” Lawler replied. “I wouldn’t expect you as a — I don’t know. I assume you’re a citizen. Maybe you’re not. Maybe you are…”

Some laughed, some groaned. David Imamura, who represents the lower rivertowns, later said, “For GOP Congressman Mike Lawler to question the citizenship of the Hispanic Vice Chair of our Board is indicative of all of the problems in today’s Republican Party.” Unfortunately for Lawler, the TV cameras caught the exchange, which drew widespread coverage on local news stations. Lawler attempted to contextualize his response by noting that “you’re telling me about ICE approaching,” but the damage had been done. Alvarado reminded Lawler that he, like the Congressman, had to be a U.S. citizen in order to hold elective office.

Lawler later explained that what he had meant was that anyone, when asked by a law enforcement officer to show identification, should comply. Generally speaking, that is not a requirement, unless the citizen is being arrested or under credible suspicion of a crime.

In his constituent communications, Rep. Lawler stresses his bipartisanship. Recently, he touted a bill co-sponsored with Brooklyn Democrat Yvette D. Clarke to ease restrictions on foreign medical school graduates from remaining in-country to practice–thereby tripling their number as a way to counter the physician shortage, especially in smaller communities.

As for efforts to accommodate Democrats’ concerns with HR 22, Latimer maintains that “GOP leadership has shown no willingness to meet with Democrats … to amend any of their key bills.”

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