Supreme Court Allows Part of Arizona Election Integrity Law Take Effect

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Thursday to allow Arizona to require proof of citizenship when people register to vote using the state’s voter registration form. 

The ruling came after the Republican Party asked for an emergency stay from the Supreme Court after a federal judge blocked Arizona from implementing a 2022 voter integrity law. The ruling is only a partial win for Republicans in the battleground state as the court did not allow a part of the law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections or voting by mail to go into effect. 

The ruling says that the portion relating to federal elections is on hold pending a review from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch voted to allow the proof of citizenship requirements for the state form to take effect. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch would have allowed the entire law to take effect. 

Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan in voting to block any implementation of the law. 

Republican Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma called the decision a “step in the right direction.”

“I look forward to continuing this litigation in the 9th Circuit to vindicate all of Arizona’s common sense voting laws and eventually bringing this case before the Supreme Court for a full merits review,” he said. 

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said the ruling was “a major victory for election integrity.”

“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 said. “The Supreme Court has sided with the RNC, and the American people, to protect the vote in November.”

A statement from the RNC added that it was confident that “documentary proof of citizenship requirements in presidential elections and vote by mail will eventually be upheld.”

The Biden-Harris administration challenged the federal voting components of the Arizona law, claiming that it violated the National Voter Registration Act, while other liberal groups challenged the state voter form citizenship requirements. There are reportedly around 40,000 voters in Arizona who have only registered for federal elections, meaning they have not had to provide proof of citizenship. 

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Conservative legal scholars have argued that Congress should amend the National Voter Registration Act to make clear that states can mandate proof of citizenship for registering to vote using the federal voter registration form. 

 “In fact, given concerns around, and documented instances of non-citizens registering and voting, other states should follow Arizona’s lead and take the commonsense step of requiring proof of citizenship when voters register using a state form,” Heritage Foundation legal scholar Zach Smith said in response to the ruling. 

Republicans have argued that there is a danger of non-citizens voting in American elections, while Democrats and members of the legacy media have maintained that there is no evidence of non-citizen voting. 

Arizona is expected to be one of the key states determining the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.