24 States Join Forces to Defend Voter Integrity — Coalition Files Brief Urging Supreme Court to Uphold Arizona’s Proof of Citizenship Law

 

A coalition of 24 states has joined forces to support Arizona in its battle to uphold proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration.

This united front comes in response to a controversial ruling by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court on August 1, which struck down Arizona’s law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.

On August 1, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit issued a narrow 2-1 decision that struck down Arizona’s requirement for proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

The ruling allows individuals to register using a state form without providing documentation of their citizenship status, which could lead to widespread voter fraud.

Arizona’s law, enacted in 2022, was designed specifically to prevent non-citizens from voting by mandating proof of citizenship for state voter registration. The initial emergency stay by a different Ninth Circuit panel had upheld these safeguards, but the recent ruling has been interpreted by many as a significant step backward in election security.

“This is just another example of why the radical Ninth Circuit is the most overturned circuit in the nation,” said Senate President Warren Petersen.

“They routinely engage in judicial warfare to carry out their extremist liberal agenda that’s contrary to the laws our citizens elected us to implement. We will seek assistance from the Supreme Court to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections. If this principle is not followed, democracy as we know it, and as our Founding Fathers intended, is in jeopardy.”

The Republican National Committee (RNC), joined by Republican lawmakers, has joined the fray, filing a brief with the Supreme Court seeking to revive key provisions of Arizona’s law. They argue that the lower court’s decision undermines the rights of legitimate voters and jeopardizes the integrity of electoral outcomes.

“The RNC has an interest in having its members’ rights as voters not undermined by eleventh-hour changes to election laws,” they stated in their brief.

On Thursday, the coalition, which includes 24 states and is spearheaded by Kansas Attorney General Kris W. Kobach and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, filed an amicus brief urging the highest court in the land to uphold Arizona’s right to enforce voter integrity measures that ensure only U.S. citizens are permitted to vote.

The states that have joined the coalition to support Arizona’s proof of citizenship law in the Supreme Court are:

1. Kansas
2. West Virginia
3. Alabama
4. Alaska
5. Arkansas
6. Florida
7. Georgia
8. Idaho
9. Indiana
10. Iowa
11. Kentucky
12. Louisiana
13. Missouri
14. Montana
15. Nebraska
16. New Hampshire
17. North Dakota
18. Ohio
19. Oklahoma
20. South Carolina
21. South Dakota
22. Texas
23. Utah
24. Virginia​

The brief argues that the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) does not preempt Arizona’s ability to enforce its voter qualification laws, particularly the requirement for proof of citizenship.

The coalition contends that the state’s sovereign right to determine voter qualifications, including the requirement that voters be citizens, is constitutionally protected and should not be overridden by federal mandates.

The Arizona law, which was enacted as part of a broader effort to strengthen election security, restricts individuals who are unable to provide proof of citizenship from registering to vote in state and presidential elections. It also limits mail-in voting to those whose citizenship has been verified.

These provisions were challenged in federal court, where a district judge ruled that they were preempted by the NVRA.

The coalition of states, however, argues that this ruling undermines state sovereignty and the constitutional right of states to manage their own elections. The brief highlights the dangers of non-citizen voting, noting that even small numbers of illegal votes can sway the outcome of close elections, citing the 2008 Minnesota Senate race as a prime example.

“Voting by non-citizens, both legal and illegal, is real. The typical rejoinder is to claim that few non-citizens vote. On its own terms, though, the answer at least acknowledges that the problem persists. But it also ignores that even small voting blocs can have outsized effects on electoral outcomes. That effect is most obvious in local elections. But non-citizen voting also has national effects. Al Franken, for example, won his Senate seat in Minnesota in 2008 by 312 votes—an amount small enough that voting by aliens likely decided the election,” according to the brief.

In addition to defending Arizona’s law, the brief warns that the district court’s ruling could have far-reaching consequences, weakening election security measures across the country.

The states argue that the Supreme Court should grant Arizona’s request to stay the district court’s ruling, allowing the state to continue enforcing its proof of citizenship requirement while the case proceeds.

You can read the full brief here.