The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing the state of Arizona, trying to block a law that would have forced residents to provide proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
The DOJ argued that the requirement, part of HB 2492, which is set to take effect in January, is a “violation of the national voter registration law [NVRA].”
The suit claims that requiring proof of citizenship would violate not only the 1993 voter registration law, but also the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
“For nearly three decades, the National Voter Registration Act has helped move states in the right direction by eliminating unnecessary requirements that have historically made it difficult for voters to access registration rolls. “Arizona passed a law that turns back the clock on progress by imposing illegal and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from registration rolls for certain federal elections,” Kristen Clark, Assistant Attorney General for the Division of Civil Rights, said in a statement .
Arizona law could remove tens of thousands of people from voter rolls.
The state already has a bifurcated system after a 2004 ballot measure allowed Arizona officials to require proof of citizenship for anyone who registered to vote after 2005.
But the new law would remove the provision that grandfathers in those who may have registered to vote decades earlier, blocking them from voting in federal elections.
Figures provided by the state show there are about 11,600 federal voters who have not provided the proof of citizenship required to vote in state elections. But NPR estimates that up to 192,000 voters could be removed from the rolls if the new law goes into effect.
The Justice Department said the new law also conflicts with a 2013 Supreme Court ruling stemming from another lawsuit in Arizona, noting that the state cannot impose a proof-of-citizenship requirement on those who register to vote , using the federal form.
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“Arizona is a repeat offender when it comes to trying to make it harder to register to vote,” Clark said in a call with reporters.
“Arizona’s own nonpartisan Legislative Council warns legislators that the NVRA takes precedence over HB 2492’s documentary evidence of citizenship requirements for applicants filling out federal forms seeking to vote in federal elections.” … Nevertheless, the Legislature ignored these warnings and passed HB 2492 anyway,” she added.
When Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed the law in March, he said it was needed to “prohibit any attempt at illegal voting.”
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