Speaker Mike Johnson wants to stop undocumented immigrants from voting. But they don't.

From the steps of the Capitol, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) called on Congress Wednesday to pass his new “election integrity” bill, which he claims will prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act proposes that anyone registering to vote in U.S. elections must first provide proof of citizenship. This would be an amendment to the 1993 Voter Registration Act, which mandates people fill out a form swearing they are U.S. citizens but does not require documentation.

If passed, hopeful voters would need to prove their citizenship with a passport or birth certificate. If the bill passes and is enacted, states will have 10 days to implement the new voting registration requirements.

But there’s an issue with the SAVE Act – it’s attempting to tackle a problem that doesn’t exist.

Do undocumented immigrants vote in U.S. elections?

It’s already a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. Only a handful of municipalities in three states – California, Maryland, Vermont – and Washington D.C. allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.

Multiple studies confirm that instances of undocumented immigrants voting in state and federal elections are incredibly rare – far less than 1%. It’s so rare, in fact, that even Johnson appears to have trouble justifying his bill.

“We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections. But it’s not been something that is easily provable. We don’t have that number,” Johnson acknowledged.

According to a study of the 2016 election from the Brennan Center, election officials only referred 30 cases out of 23.5 million votes for further investigation of noncitizen voting. That amounts to 0.0001% of suspected – not proven – instances of noncitizen votes out of the total ballots cast.

Other studies have found the same: undocumented immigrants do not vote in large enough numbers to impact U.S. elections.

That fraction of a percent makes sense, as it’s also a deportable offense under immigration law. Creating a government record by registering to vote as a noncitizen – a crime on its own – puts people on the government’s radar, leaving them vulnerable to prison time and deportation. Few people would be willing to take the risk simply for one vote.

Where does the SAVE Act stand?

A version of the SAVE Act was proposed by Republicans in both the House and Senate on Wednesday.

Though it stands a chance in the House, it’s extremely unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate or be signed into law by President Biden.

But Johnson remained undeterred. Flanked by other members of Congress who worked to overturn the 2020 election results, Johnson said the bill represented “the essence of what it means to have a constitutional republic. If people cannot rely upon … the integrity of that system, then we have nothing.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Speaker Johnson introduces bill to stop noncitizens from voting in US