A coalition of 24 states has joined forces to assist Arizona in its battle to uphold proof-of-citizenship necessities for voter registration.
This united entrance is available in response to a controversial ruling by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court docket on August 1, which struck down Arizona’s legislation requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
On August 1, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit issued a slender 2-1 determination that struck down Arizona’s requirement for proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
The ruling permits people to register utilizing a state type with out offering documentation of their citizenship standing, which may result in widespread voter fraud.
Arizona’s legislation, enacted in 2022, was designed particularly to forestall non-citizens from voting by mandating proof of citizenship for state voter registration. The preliminary emergency keep by a distinct Ninth Circuit panel had upheld these safeguards, however the latest ruling has been interpreted by many as a big step backward in election safety.
“That is simply one other instance of why the unconventional Ninth Circuit is probably the most overturned circuit within the nation,” stated Senate President Warren Petersen.
“They routinely interact in judicial warfare to hold out their extremist liberal agenda that’s opposite to the legal guidelines our residents elected us to implement. We’ll search help from the Supreme Court docket to make sure solely Americans are voting in our elections. If this precept isn’t adopted, democracy as we all know it, and as our Founding Fathers meant, is in jeopardy.”
The Republican Nationwide Committee (RNC), joined by Republican lawmakers, has joined the fray, submitting a quick with the Supreme Court docket looking for to revive key provisions of Arizona’s legislation. They argue that the decrease courtroom’s determination undermines the rights of legit voters and jeopardizes the integrity of electoral outcomes.
“The RNC has an curiosity in having its members’ rights as voters not undermined by eleventh-hour adjustments to election legal guidelines,” they said of their temporary.
On Thursday, the coalition, which incorporates 24 states and is spearheaded by Kansas Legal professional Basic Kris W. Kobach and West Virginia Legal professional Basic Patrick Morrisey, filed an amicus temporary urging the very best courtroom within the land to uphold Arizona’s proper to implement voter integrity measures that guarantee solely U.S. residents are permitted to vote.
The states which have joined the coalition to assist Arizona’s proof of citizenship legislation within the Supreme Court docket are:
- Kansas
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
The temporary argues that the Nationwide Voter Registration Act (NVRA) doesn’t preempt Arizona’s potential to implement its voter qualification legal guidelines, significantly the requirement for proof of citizenship.
The coalition contends that the state’s sovereign proper to find out voter {qualifications}, together with the requirement that voters be residents, is constitutionally protected and shouldn’t be overridden by federal mandates.
The Arizona legislation, which was enacted as a part of a broader effort to strengthen election safety, restricts people who’re unable to supply proof of citizenship from registering to vote in state and presidential elections. It additionally limits mail-in voting to these whose citizenship has been verified.
These provisions have been challenged in federal courtroom, the place a district choose dominated that they have been preempted by the NVRA.
The coalition of states, nonetheless, argues that this ruling undermines state sovereignty and the constitutional proper of states to handle their very own elections. The temporary highlights the hazards of non-citizen voting, noting that even small numbers of unlawful votes can sway the end result of shut elections, citing the 2008 Minnesota Senate race as a main instance.
“Voting by non-citizens, each authorized and unlawful, is actual. The everyday rejoinder is to assert that few non-citizens vote. By itself phrases, although, the reply at the very least acknowledges that the issue persists. Nevertheless it additionally ignores that even small voting blocs can have outsized results on electoral outcomes. That impact is most blatant in native elections. However non-citizen voting additionally has nationwide results. Al Franken, for instance, received his Senate seat in Minnesota in 2008 by 312 votes—an quantity sufficiently small that voting by aliens seemingly determined the election,” in line with the temporary.
Along with defending Arizona’s legislation, the temporary warns that the district courtroom’s ruling may have far-reaching penalties, weakening election safety measures throughout the nation.
The states argue that the Supreme Court docket ought to grant Arizona’s request to remain the district courtroom’s ruling, permitting the state to proceed imposing its proof of citizenship requirement whereas the case proceeds.
You possibly can learn the total temporary right here.
