Mike Johnson ran voter bill by right-wing influencers before introducing it: report

Long before House Speaker Mike Johnson's voter registration bill was announced, high profile right-wing social media influencers were briefed on its details in an apparent coordinated effort to hype the proposed law, according to a new report.

A wave of influencer posts circulated social media before the bill was publicly announced at a joint press conference Johnson held with former President Donald Trump on Friday, most of them calling on Congress to pass it, NBC News reported Tuesday.

The bill focuses on non-citizens who vote in U.S. elections — an occurrence that is already both illegal and rare.

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As NBC News pointed out, Johnson's speakership is under fire from Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is working to oust him and the latest move was seen as a way for him to shore support with the party's base.

"Getting some public support and praise from Trump could give Johnson a bit of protection with the Republican base, as could drumming up support from conservative social media influencers," NBC News' report stated.

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Despite the fact that neither Johnson nor his office would provide specifics about the bill before the Friday press conference, influencer accounts like Libs of TikTok, DC_Draino and EndWokeness, pushed the bill they called “the SAVE Act,” though Johnson did not name it as such.

DC_Draino claimed the bill “would require blue states to obtain proof of citizenship for voter registration.” EndWokeness claimed that the bill would punish election officials who register noncitizens to vote.

One of those who appears to have received advance information about the bill was Turning Point USA contributor Chrissy Clark, who shared numerous details that were not yet public.

“Speaker Mike Johnson just dropped information about the SAVE Act, which, basically, its only goal is that only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections — what a concept,” Clark said in a post that was published about 20 minutes before Johnson's press conference. “The whole message that he’s trying to portray is you should be required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship for voter registration. That doesn’t necessarily mean a state-issued ID."

The very minute the press conference began, conservative influencerIsabella DeLuca, who was arrested last month on charges related to Jan. 6, fired off a post saying, "Speaker Johnson just introduced the SAVE Act, a pivotal measure to fortify our democracy and save our elections."

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