RNC asks Supreme Court to revive Arizona voter registration law
The Republican
National Committee (RNC) asked the
Supreme Court to take emergency action
to revive an Arizona law requiring voter
registration applicants show proof of
citizenship when using a state form.
The request, docketed Friday, also
asks to reinstate Arizona's prohibition
of voting in presidential elections or
by mail if someone has not met the
proof-of-citizenship requirement,
regardless of whether they used the
state or federal form.
The RNC's
application seeks to implement the law
for November's election, when Arizona is
expected to be a critical swing state in
the race between former President Trump
and Vice President Harris.
Currently, Arizona's provisions are on
hold under rulings issued by lower
courts.
"The district court's
injunction is an unprecedented
abrogation of the Arizona Legislature's
sovereign authority to determine the
qualifications of voters and structure
participation in its elections," the
RNC, joined by state lawmakers, wrote to
the justices.
By default, their
application was sent to Justice Elena
Kagan, a member of the court's liberal
wing who handles emergency appeals
arising from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals. She could act on the request
alone or refer it to the full court for
a vote.
The motion draws
attention to Republicans' emphasis on
voter integrity efforts, though a
Brennan Center for Justice study of 23.5
million tabulated votes in the 2016
election found only 30 suspected cases
of noncitizen voting.
The case
follows a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that
federal voting laws preempted Arizona
from requiring citizenship proof for
voter registrants applying using a
federal form.
Two years ago,
among other reforms, Arizona began
mandating officials reject state-level
voter registration forms if the person
did not provide citizenship proof.
At issue is whether that requirement
violates a 2018 consent decree the state
signed with the League of United Latin
American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest
and largest Latino civil rights group in
the country.
It provides that
applicants who submit state forms
without citizenship proof will still be
fully registered if citizenship can be
confirmed with information on file with
the state's transportation department.
The RNC also wants to revive
Arizona's requirement that voters must
have provided proof to vote in
presidential elections or by mail. A
lower court found it, too, was preempted
by federal law.
The application
further cites the Purcell principle,
referring to the courts' practice of not
blocking election rules too close to an
election, saying the lower courts went
too far.
"The Arizona
Legislature enacted the relevant
statutes more than two years ago. But
the Ninth Circuit order stopped state
officials from enforcing the law. Since
the Ninth Circuit erroneously enjoined a
valid state election statute, this Court should correct that error," the
application reads.
The RNC and
state lawmakers asked for a ruling by
Aug. 22, saying that was the deadline to
resolve the litigation before ballots
are printed.
by Zach Schonfeld