The US Supreme Court on Thursday upheld in part an Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship for voters registering to cast ballots in statewide elections.
The high court overruled 5-4 a lower court judge’s decision invalidating a provision of that law in a brief, unsigned order, requiring Arizona election officials to reject voter registration applications that fail to provide “satisfactory evidence of citizenship” for state races.
As of July 1, 42,301 Arizonans are registered to vote in the upcoming federal elections, according to the secretary of state’s office, but are only required to provide documentary proof of citizenship when applying on state forms — not federal ones.
But the justices did not permit a provision to take effect that would have forced voters to show proof of citizenship when registering on federal forms to cast ballots by mail or in the presidential election.
Justices Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas were in favor of upholding both provisions, while Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Amy Coney Barrett supported neither.
Their ruling will remain in effect as the appeals process works its way through the San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
An Arizona federal district court ruling in May first struck down the law, prompting the Republican National Committee to appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
That federal appeals court then issued split decisions on the ability of state officials to fully enforce the measure, H.B. 2492, prompting the RNC to apply for a stay of the rulings at the Supreme Court as the legal battle rages on.
“This is a major victory for election integrity that upholds a simple principle: American elections must be decided by American citizens,” said RNC chairman Michael Whatley in a statement.
“While Democrats have worked to undermine basic election safeguards and make it easier for non-citizens to vote, we have fought tooth and nail to preserve citizenship requirements, see the law enforced, and secure our elections,” he added.
“The Supreme Court has sided with the RNC, and the American people, to protect the vote in November.”
The Biden administration, Arizona Democratic Party and Arizona’s attorney general had all opposed the RNC’s high court appeal, arguing that the state law was disruptive at best and at worst would wrongfully deny eligible voters from registering.
“My concern is that changes to the process should not occur this close to an election, it creates confusion for voters,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes responded after the Supreme Court ruling.
“We respect the Court’s decision and will implement these changes while continuing to protect voter access and make a voting simple process.”
The Arizona law was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in 2022.
The various legal challenges against it stemmed from its alleged overriding of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, which helps provide federal registration forms in at least 46 states that require only a signed attestation of citizenship.
At issue is whether federal or state governments have the ability to determine how the voter registration occurs — whether a state legislature can pass a law strengthening proof-of-citizenship tests without violating the NVRA.
House Republicans passed their own bill, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act in July to add the proof-of-citizenship requirement to NVRA forms — but the legislation has yet to be taken up the in Democrat-controlled Senate after the White House issued a veto threat.
It’s already illegal for non-US citizens to vote in federal elections, though hundreds of documented cases exist and violators have been prosecuted.
Thousands more have successfully registered without casting a ballot, according to both state and federal investigations.
More than 6,000 non-citizens were kicked off voter rolls in Virginia just earlier this month.
Former Federal Election Commission (FEC) chairman Hans Von Spakovsky told The Post in June he believes that if the SAVE Act successfully amends the NVRA, proof-of-citizenship laws would “get passed in a lot of states,” including New Hampshire, where a similar a bill is under consideration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) released a 21-page white paper on the SAVE Act last month, urging Congress to pass the bill and halt potential “foreign election interference” due to the record-breaking 6.4 million immigrants who have entered the US and taken up residence since President Biden took office in January 2021.
“We have so many non-citizens in the country right now that if only one out of 100 of those illegal aliens voted, you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of votes being cast,” Johnson said, sounding the alarm in a floor speech.
Biden won Arizona during the 2020 presidential election by a margin of 10,457 votes.
