As reported by the Washington Times, on March 8, 2019, the Democrats in the House of Representatives blocked an attempt by House Republicans to pass a bill amendment that would express disapproval of state and local governments giving illegal aliens the right to vote in state and local elections. The Times reported:

The United States Constitution needs to be amended so that state legislatures that have members who can be elected by illegal aliens, or are themselves illegal aliens, are prohibited from taking part in the constitutional amendment process and the Electoral College process.

"We are prepared to open up the political process and let all of the people come in," Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and hero of the civil rights movement, told colleagues as he led opposition to the GOP measure. ... The measure would have had no practical effect even if it had passed. Illegal immigrants [sic] — and indeed noncitizens as a whole — are not legally able to participate in federal elections. But Republicans had hoped to send a message to localities such as San Francisco, where noncitizens are now allowed to vote in school board elections.

Merely prohibiting illegal aliens from voting for candidates for federal office is insufficient to protect the country from illegal alien voting and illegal alien state office-holders. State legislatures play a significant role in controlling the federal government. State legislatures can propose constitutional amendments and ratify proposed amendments. Article V of the Constitution states:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress[.]

State legislatures can direct how members of the Electoral College are appointed.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states that the president and Vice President "shall . . . be elected, as follows:"

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress . ...

At some point, it is likely that the Democrats in various states will allow illegal aliens to vote for candidates for the state Legislature and allow illegal aliens to be members of state legislatures. When that happens, illegal aliens will be able to 1) participate in the constitutional amendment process by proposing constitutional amendments and participate in constitutional amendment ratification votes and 2) participate in electing the president and vice president of the United States by appointing a state's electors for the Electoral College. The federal ban on illegal aliens voting for federal candidates would not prevent this from happening.

(All of this is separate from the fact that there is nothing in the Constitution requiring that an elector be lawfully present in the United States. How soon before a Democrat-dominated state appoints an illegal alien to be an elector in the Electoral College?)

The only way to prevent this from happening is to amend the Constitution to prohibit state legislatures that have members who can be elected by illegal aliens, or are themselves illegal aliens, from taking part in the constitutional amendment process and the Electoral College process.

The need for such an amendment will be rendered moot when a Democrat president and a Democrat-controlled Senate and House, perhaps with help from a significant minority of Republicans who favor uncontrolled borders, eliminate the laws against being in the United States without authorization. Then there will be no illegal aliens, and other than on paper, there will be no United States.

Allan J. Favish is an attorney in Los Angeles. His website is allanfavish.com. James Fernald and Mr. Favish have co-authored a book about what might happen if the government ran Disneyland, entitled Fireworks! If the Government Ran the Fairest Kingdom of Them All (A Very Unauthorized Fantasy).