Politics

DOJ Sues Arizona For Proof Of Citizenship Requirement To Vote

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The Department of Justice challenged an Arizona law requiring voters to show proof of citizenship for presidential elections Tuesday, according to The Washington Post (WaPo). 

The DOJ’s lawsuit argued that the federal voter registration form “already includes an attestation demonstrating a prospective voter’s citizenship, which Arizona continues to accept for in-person voting in congressional elections,” WaPo reported.

The lawsuit also argued that the law ignores a Supreme Court ruling from 2013 that struck down a similar Arizona law, the outlet noted.

Under the law, voters are required to provide proof of citizenship, and country officials must cross-check voter registration with citizenship records. 

The Arizona law “turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said, according to the Post. Clarke argued that the Arizona law violated the National Voter Registration Act.

The current law passed in a party line vote in March, and Republicans argued it would cut down on voter fraud, according to WaPo.

Arizona Republicans argued that the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the previous Arizona law concerned congressional elections and did not specifically mention presidential elections, according to the Post. 

Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey characterized the bill as a tool to address the rise in new voters participating in elections, highlighting that 13,000 active registered voters have not checked the citizenship box on their federal voter registration form, according to the Washington Post. (RELATED: Arizona Is Busing Migrants To DC. Guess Who They Want To Pay For It?)

Ducey said in a March letter that “Arizona has a proud history of making voter accessible” and that “Arizonans also value election integrity, which can and should exist in tandem to, not in conflict with, access to the ballot box.”

“Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote,” Ducey wrote.