What the Emergency Appeal Says
On August 9, Republican lawmakers in Arizona filed an emergency appeal where they note that although Congress made it easier for Americans to register to vote, the rules cannot override “the Arizona Legislature’s sovereign authority to determine the qualifications of voters and structure participation in its elections.”
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The appeal may show if the conservative court is ready to intervene in partisan election issues. The Republicans that filed the dispute asked for a decision by Thursday because counties will begin printing ballots soon.
Arizona Secretary of State Denying the Appeal
Adrian Fontes, the Arizona Secretary of State, says that the appeal should be immediately rejected in the country’s highest court.
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In a statement, he said that “There is no evidence of fraud and undocumented voting. The 2024 election is weeks away and acting now to restrict the voting rights of a large group of Arizona’s voters is undemocratic.”
The Voters Who Would Be Affected
Many of the people who would be affected by the change in voter rules are “service members, students and Native Americans who did not have birth certificates while registering,” Fontes noted.
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The push to restrict certain voters underlines the reality that many American citizens don’t all have the same documentation, and it doesn’t mean that they’re not legally allowed to vote.
The Biden Administration Denies the Claims
On Friday, the Biden administration also noted that the court should reject the appeal. “Thousands of voters have already registered to vote by filing the federal form without accompanying documentary proof of citizenship,” said Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar.
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“Judicial intervention at this stage would produce unnecessary confusion and chaos on the cusp of an election.”
Arizona Is an Important Battleground State
Arizona remains an important battleground state for both parties, and the winner can easily decide who sits in the White House. During the last election cycle, President Biden won by a mere 10,457 votes.
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The secretary of state’s office noted that the ruling might immediately affect 41,128 registered voters in Arizona. However, some voters are inactive because they did not vote in recent elections.
Arizona's Voting Laws
At the heart of the issue is the despute of Arizona’s law that allows residents to register to vote without proof of their citizenship.
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A 1993 Congressional act sought to make voting easier by creating the National Voter Registration Act, known as the “motor voter” law. This law allowed prospective voters to fill out a form and register a sworn statement that they were U.S. citizens.
Another Change In Arizona
In 2004, Arizona made another drastic change to its voter registration laws. Newly registered voters were now required to provide “documentary proof of citizenship.”
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Several civil rights advocacy groups and the ACLU have sued to challenge the changes. The groups cited that more than 13 million Americans cannot access birth certificates or other documents that could definitively prove citizenship.
The Supreme Court Ruled in Favor of Original Laws
The decision was won in the lower courts, and years later, in 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal motor voter law overrode the state’s law and would remain legal.
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At the time, Justice Antonin Scalia said that the federal law requires states to “accept and use” the standard form in federal elections.
Arizona Fought Back with Its Own System
Arizona soon created its own voter laws. The state adopted a two-track voter system registration.
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In order to vote in state and local elections, new voters would be required to show proof of citizenship. Some of the documents that can be used are a driver’s license or a birth certificate.
Separate Voting Abilities
The people who registered to vote through the federal form were only allowed to participate in federal elections. They are referred to as “federal only” voters.
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The state agreed in 2018 that a consent decree fave full registration to new voters whose residence and citizenship could be confirmed through the Mother Vehicle Department database.
The Republican Push This Election Cycle Doesn't Hold Much Weight
Danielle Lang, a voting rights attorney for the Campaign Legal Center who worked on the case, found the Republican lawmakers’ arguments surprising.
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“They are trying to upend the law as it has been in Arizona at least since 2018,” she said. “The voters who registered using the federal form were not asked to provide proof of citizenship.” She also noted that the Republican lawmakers and their attorneys did not cite any examples of noncitizens being enrolled or voting.