Proof of citizenship voter law

RNC requests Supreme Court to revive portions of Arizona proof of citizenship voter law

From CNN's Tierney Sneed

The Republican National Committee asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to revive parts of an Arizona law that requires documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in the state — including provisions that would require those documents to vote in the presidential election and to cast ballots by mail.

The request puts the spotlight on an issue that Republicans have wanted front and center in the 2024 campaign, despite the lack of evidence that non-citizen voting is a significant threat to elections.

Democrats and voting rights advocates say the requirement not only is unnecessary, but could disenfranchise people who don’t have easy access to documents like birth certificates that would prove their citizenship.

Republicans are seeking to renew parts of the law requiring proof of citizenship for Arizonans who register to vote using the state voter registration form. They are also seeking to restore a requirement for proof of citizenship to vote in a presidential election.

The complex way that Arizona crafted the proof of citizenship requirement in the 2022 voter law appears in part aimed at getting around a 2013 Supreme Court precedent that put limits on when states could impose such demands — particularly for those registering to vote using the federal registration form, which does not currently require documentary proof of citizenship.

The lower court orders blocking the provisions in the Arizona law, Republicans told the Supreme Court on Thursday, were “unprecedented abrogation” of the state lawmakers’ authority “to determine the qualifications of voters and structure participation in its elections.”