Republican House speaker Mike Johnson claimed — without evidence — that there will be “cheating” in the 2024 election, once again raising unfounded doubts about electoral integrity. In 2020, Johnson voted against the certification of President Joe Biden's win.
“I think there is going to be some cheating in this election,” Johnson said in an interview Sunday on Face the Nation. “I think non-citizens are going to vote.”
Johnson's claims parrot Donald Trump's repeated baseless allegations of election fraud that he has been spreading ahead of election day.
“You know that it is against the law for non-citizens to vote in federal elections,” moderator Margaret Brennan responded. “That's established law.”
“Of course it is,” Johnson said. “But here's the problem, there's a number of states that are not requiring proof of citizenship when illegals are noncitizens register to vote. We know that's happening.”
Johnson then spoke about how Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin is “cleaning up” the state's voter rolls. The Justice Department has tried to intervene, arguing in a lawsuit against Virginia election officials filed Friday that the state is illegally striking names, a violation of federal election law. Under the National Voter Registration Act, states must implement a 90-day “quiet period” before an election to maintain voter rolls. Otherwise, voters will not have an opportunity to correct any errors.
“Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act's quiet period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters,” Assistant US Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.
Pushing back on Johnson's claims, Brennan said, “Respectfully, speaker, you both — in the course of this interview — said that you do believe that states have taken measures that will help the integrity of this election, and then you just also seem to undermine confidence in the integrity of the state elections.”
Johnson responded with more conspiracy theories, namely that Democrats “opened the border wide” to get more voters. “A lot of people theorize that that was so that they could have non-citizens to vote,” Johnson said, offering zero proof other than conjecture. “I wish it weren't true, but that's the concern that people have.”
When Brennan pointed out that it's already illegal for non-citizens to vote, Johnson argued that passing the SAVE Act — legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote — would “make sure the law is followed.” Democrats blocked the bill, with Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling the bill “a voter suppression bill” because it would disenfranchise citizens who don't have easy access to documentation proving their citizenship.
Asked whether there will be a repeat of Jan. 6 in 2025, Johnson said“I don't think we'll see anything like that. I certainly pray and hope that's true.”
Johnson later promised: “We're going to have the peaceful transition of power.”
“Are you certain that at the nation's Capitol, the lawmakers who you work with, won't be challenging the outcome?” Brennan asked.
“We'll see what happens,” Johnson said. “I can just tell you that we're going to follow the law.”
Former Rep. Liz Cheney expressed concerns about Johnson embracing conspiracy theories. She said she does not trust him to certify the 2024 election if Vice President Kamala Harris is the victor.
“I do not have faith that Mike Johnson will fulfill his constitutional obligations,” Cheney said on Meet the Press after Johnson's appearance on the show. “The claims of fraud Donald Trump was making [in 2020] … [Johnson] knew those to be false. He was told that, not only in discussions with me, but also by the House Republican counsel.”
Johnson has put a caveat on whether he will certify a Harris win, stating Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press that he will only certify if the election is “free, fair and legal.”
That's why, Cheney said, “I think it's very important that the Republicans not be in the majority in the House come January 2025.”
