On Thursday, a federal district judge in Arizona maintained that the legislation requiring voters to present proof of citizenship is constitutional, despite an attempt from the Biden administration to remove this provision.
According to the plaintiffs, Mi Familia Vota, the H.B. 2492 was unconstitutional. The law demands voters to present proof of citizenship to complete election registration. The White House also joined in the appeal as they filed a separate complaint.
However, the Arizona judge struck down one of the requirements asking the voters to state their place of birth.
In a written opinion, Senior U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton wrote: “Plaintiffs have not carried their burden to show that the Voting Laws’ remaining citizenship investigation procedures, [documentary proof of citizenship] requirements, and registration cancellation procedures violate the [National Voter Registration Act] or the [Voting Rights Act].”
“Nor do these provisions impose an undue burden on the right to vote or violate the equal protection and due process guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. Finally, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs failed to show that the Voting Laws were enacted with any discriminatory purpose.”
Mi Familia Vota argued earlier that HB 2492 was a “baseless assault on Arizona’s election system based on a conspiracy theory that non-citizens are voting, despite a persistent lack of credible evidence to support such claims.”
They added that the bill is a part of “cynical and bad faith attempts to use these politically motivated and false allegations to limit access to voting by eligible, lawful citizens.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration argued that there is a possibility that a legitimate U.S. citizen might be hindered from voting if any state database identified them as “non-citizens.”
“If the applicant fails to produce [documentary proof of citizenship], then the applicant cannot vote in a presidential election or by mail ballot…[t]he applicant can vote in congressional elections, but only by casting a ballot in person,” reasons the federal government.
Bolton’s verdict ruled in favor mostly of HB 2492 and HB 2243, another legislation that allows state authority to utilize different government databases to check and verify non-citizens.
However, Judge Bolton removed HB 2492’s requirement to register one’s place of birth, as it may result in unwarranted discrimination against naturalized US citizens and certain natural-born US citizens who were born outside of the country.
“An individual’s place of birth is not dispositive of citizenship status, as individuals born outside the U.S. may be derived or naturalized citizens. County recorders do not use birthplace information to determine an applicant’s eligibility to vote, nor do county recorders need birthplace to verify an applicant’s identity,” wrote Bolton.
