In Virginia last month, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) announced he had removed 6,303 noncitizens from the commonwealth’s voting rolls, adding, “Call me crazy, but I think American elections should be decided by American citizens.”

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) announced earlier last month that he had removed more than 6,500 noncitizens from Texas voting rolls since 2021, including 1,930 who actually voted. Those who did vote were referred to the state attorney general’s office for investigation and possible prosecution. In Alabama, Secretary of State Wes Allen recently announced that 3,251 people had been switched to “inactive status” after a review of state and federal records showed they had been identified as noncitizens.

Contrast these efforts by Republican officeholders with those of California, where no statewide effort to maintain voter rolls is made, and instead, the job is assigned to counties, many of which do not appear to be complying with federal law.

Twenty-one of California’s 58 counties have removed five or fewer voters from their voting rolls since 2020, according to a federal lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch. Not all voters who are removed from the rolls are noncitizens. Some die or move out of the state, and federal law mandates voter lists be updated to reflect these changes. San Diego County removed 130,050 registrations during this same time frame. But according to California’s secretary of state, 21 counties representing 22% of the state’s population removed virtually nobody. This is a clear violation of federal law.

It means that the California state government, which is controlled by Democrats, has 21 counties with more registered voters on file than citizens of voting age, according to census numbers. These inaccurate voter rolls are an invitation to fraud and mischief, and it is an invitation that will doubtless be accepted.

Democrats claim voter fraud and illegal immigrant voting are rare, but they do happen, and if they are not significant factors, it is odd how Democrats routinely want to do nothing about them. In a close election, as this year’s presidential election appears likely to be, it would not take many fraudulent or illegal votes to change an outcome. One 2014 study of the 2008 election found that while just 6.4% of noncitizens voted that year, their votes were enough to swing some tight races and give Democrats the 60 Senate votes they needed to pass Obamacare on a purely partisan basis.

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Republicans in Congress are fighting noncitizen voting with legislation that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Current law forbids noncitizens from voting, but it does not seek proof of citizenship to vote. It is like having a legal drinking age of 21 but relying on the honor system to enforce it. No sensible person believes cashiers should take a young customer’s word about his or her age, and no secretary of state should take a voter’s word, either. States should require proof of citizenship to enforce existing laws, just as they require proof of age for buying alcohol.

States can and should do more to protect the sovereignty of elections. Georgia and Louisiana post bilingual signs at all voting locations reminding voters that it is illegal for noncitizens to vote. Other states should do the same. But until then, Congress should start with the commonsense policy of requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote.