Voters ship their poll to a polling station in Tempe, Arizona, on Nov. 3, 2020. The U.S. Division of Justice on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, sued Arizona over a brand new legislation requiring individuals who use a federal type to register to vote to supply extra proof of citizenship in the event that they wish to vote for president or utilizing the state’s in style vote-by-mail system. Matt York, Related Press
The Division of Justice has opened a lawsuit towards Arizona over a brand new election legislation the division says violates the Nationwide Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Arizona legislation, which works into impact in January, requires voters who register utilizing a federal type to present extra proof of citizenship to vote in presidential elections and all federal elections if voting by mail.
The legislation was signed in by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey on March 30.
In his signing letter, Gov. Ducey stated the invoice gives a stability between making elections accessible whereas sustaining election integrity.
In a information launch on Tuesday, Assistant Lawyer Normal Kristen Clarke of the Justice Division’s Civil Rights Division known as the proof of citizenship requirement a “textbook violation of the Nationwide Voter Registration Act.”
Moreover, the legislation requires elections officers to rejected voter registration kinds if there are errors or omissions of knowledge that aren’t associated to voter eligibility. In accordance with the Justice Division, this violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In the identical information launch, U.S. Lawyer Gary M. Restaino for the District of Arizona stated “The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the District of Arizona is devoted to defending voters within the state. We're proud to hitch the Civil Rights Division in bringing this lawsuit to make sure that all eligible residents in Arizona have the chance to register to vote and train their basic proper to take part in our elections.”
The requirement additionally violates a 2013 Supreme Court docket ruling which rejected one other Arizona legislation that tried to create an identical proof of citizenship requirement to vote in a federal election.
Legal professionals for the state’s Legislature stated a lot of the legislation is unconstitutional nevertheless it nonetheless handed with solely Republican help.
In accordance with the 2013 Court docket ruling, Arizona can undertake its personal eligibility standards for state elections however should settle for federal type registration for federal elections.
This created a category of “federal solely voters” who used the federal kinds to register to vote and are solely eligible to vote in U.S. presidential, U.S. Home and U.S. Senate races. There are 31,500 voters registered as “federal solely” and can be impacted by the brand new legislation.
Whereas supporters of the legislation say it can solely impact voters who haven’t offered proof of citizenship, voting rights advocates say the legislation is obscure and will find yourself effecting a whole lot of 1000's of voters.