President Joe Biden’s administration on July 5 sued Arizona over a law that requires voters to prove they’re U.S. citizens.
The law, House Bill 2492, violates two federal statutes, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a 17-page complaint filed in federal court in Phoenix.
One of those statutes requires states to accept a federal form to register voters, and the form does not require voters to prove their citizenship, the complaint says.
“As long as an individual completes the Federal Form and meets all its requirements, and is otherwise eligible to vote, states must register that individual to vote in all federal elections in the state, including presidential elections,” it says.
The Law
The Arizona law (pdf) requires applicants to provide “satisfactory evidence of citizenship.”
Examples of such evidence include a copy of a birth certificate, a copy of a passport, and a copy of naturalization documents.
County recorders, under the law, are ordered to reject applicants who do not satisfy the requirement.
State lawmakers passed the law in March, and Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed the bill into law that month.
“Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote,” Ducey said in a letter outlining why he supported the bill.
State Rep. Jake Hoffman, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said the signing was “a giant step toward ensuring elections are easy, convenient, and secure in our state.”
Opposition
Portions of the law violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act, DOJ lawyers allege.
The former bars state officials from requiring citizenship proof beyond a voter’s attestation, under penalty of perjury, on the form used to register applicants to vote in federal elections, the new suit states.
The act “specifically precludes any state requirement that an applicant seeking to register to vote using a Federal Form also submit [proof of citizenship],” the lawyers wrote.
