The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in favor of allowing an Arizona law requiring individuals registering to vote to provide documented proof of citizenship to go back into effect.
According to The Washington Examiner, Thursday’s 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court permits a limited enforcement of Arizona’s 2022 law by allowing state officials to reject state voter registration forms if individuals do not provide documentation to show proof of U.S. citizenship. The outlet reported that Thursday’s ruling is a partial victory for the Republican National Committee, which advocated for the 2022 Arizona law to be reinstated.
On the other hand, The Washington Examiner reported that the Supreme Court justices only decided to allow one of the three provisions in Arizona’s law to be enforced. The justices left two other provisions on hold, which would have prevented individuals from voting by mail or in presidential elections without proof of citizenship.
While Thursday’s ruling was split 5-4 in favor of allowing one of Arizona’s voter law provisions to take effect, the Supreme Court indicated that conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch would have granted the application “in full.” Thursday’s ruling also stated, “Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, Justice Barrett, and Justice Jackson would deny the application in full.” The ruling did not include an explanation for the Supreme Court’s decision.
According to The Washington Post, 24 Republican-led states submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, warning that over 40,000 individuals in Arizona have registered to vote in federal elections without proof of citizenship. The 24 Republican-led states urged the Supreme Court to uphold Arizona’s election law.
The Democratic National Committee and multiple voting rights organizations had previously challenged Arizona’s election law, leading to a lower court ruling against the three provisions in the law. As a result, the Republican National Committee appealed to the Supreme Court to issue a stay to the lower court’s ruling prior to the state’s ballot printing deadline on Thursday.
In a statement on social media following Thursday’s ruling, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley wrote, “Huge win: the Supreme Court just ruled that the state of Arizona must REJECT state voter registration forms without proof of US citizenship. This follows an emergency SCOTUS appeal from the RNC. A seismic win in the fight to stop non-citizens from voting — more to come!”
