Judge Upholds Arizona Voting Citizenship Law

An Arizona law that requires proof of American citizenship in order to vote in the state has been upheld in federal court this week. The move came after considerable criticism from left-wing activists and the Biden administration.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled Thursday that requiring proof of American citizenship was not discriminatory. When weighing the “evidence as a whole,” Bolton determined that “Arizona’s interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizona’s elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to provide” proof of citizenship.

The judge did single out one element for change within the current law. The judge wrote that requiring voters to include their state or nation of birth would violate the Civil Rights Act and part of the National Voter Registration Act.

Despite this, the judge upheld the state requirement of checking registration information in order to prove a person’s citizenship.

Voter registrations that did not meet the burden of citizenship would be handed to prosecutors.

The judge argued that non-citizen voting in the state was “quite rare, and non-citizen voter fraud in Arizona is rarer still.” She wrote that the current law “could help to prevent non-citizens from registering or voting.”

The judge also said that there was no evidence that Arizona lawmakers sought to suppress legitimate voter registrations in the state.

Arizona’s new voting laws that require proof of citizenship are not discriminatory, judge ruleshttps://t.co/k7BATcKjhu

— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) March 1, 2024

Ducey signed the bill two years ago, in what supporters called one of the strongest measures ensuring that non-citizens did not vote in the country. The bill received significant support from Republicans in the Arizona state legislature.

“Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote,” said then-Gov. Doug Ducey (R) when he signed the Arizona law into effect.

Following Ducey signing the bill into law, the Biden administration sued the state. The Justice Department argued that the new law “turns back the clock” and followed similar efforts to challenge Georgia’s voter integrity law passed in the aftermath of the 2020 election.