Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) denied Tuesday that there was evidence of illegal immigrants participating in U.S. elections when asked about a law that requires proof of citizenship to vote.

“There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants are voting,” border senator Chad Pergram told Fox News in the Capitol during the chamber’s pro forma session.

Kelly had been asked for his opinion on a bill that would require proof of citizenship as a prerequisite for voting on a spending bill that must be passed later this month.

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Kelly was considered as a vice presidential candidate for Kamala Harris. (Vincent Alban/Reuters)

“This is a solution looking for a problem,” he replied.

Kelly reiterated: “The problem does not exist.”

Republicans have stepped up efforts to secure elections ahead of the crucial November election, including by purging noncitizens from voter rolls across the country. Last month, a months-long review of voter rolls found that 138 noncitizens in Ohio had recently voted. This comes after Ohio purged hundreds of registered noncitizens from the voter rolls earlier this year.

However, it is unclear whether the non-citizens who voted illegally were actually in the United States illegally.

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In the run-up to the November elections, the border has become an important issue. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Despite Kelly’s claim, there are similar cases of registered noncitizens across the country. In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott announced that more than 6,500 noncitizens are registered in the Lone Star State.

“Of the more than 6,500 potential noncitizens removed from the voter rolls, approximately 1,930 have a voting history,” an August press release said.

Alabama, Virginia and Georgia also announced numerous cases in which non-citizens registered to vote as part of their election audits.

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Kelly denied that migrants participated in elections. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

In the run-up to the 2024 elections, some conservative Republicans in the House and Senate have made it their mission to incorporate federal legislation requiring proof of citizenship to vote on an interim budget bill into a must-pass bill in late September.

The bill, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, passed the Republican-led House of Representatives earlier this summer by a vote of 221 to 198. Five Democrats joined the measure, including Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Davis (D-N.C.) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Washington).

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Kelly represents a border state. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

However, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y, has not scheduled a vote on the bill in the Senate.

Some supporters say linking it to the budget bill is the only way to get the measure voted on by the Senate.

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According to Kelly, it is “hard enough to get people to vote.”

He said the legislation would “create a new system and new requirements for which there appears to be no need.”

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