Two "Vote Here" signs sit outside the Armory Park Center on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 in downtown Tucson.
Arizona’s top Republican lawmakers and the Republican National Committee are asking United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan for an emergency stay to reinstate a 2022 law restricting some voters.
That 2022 law would restrict Arizona voters who registered with a federal-only election form from voting for President.
Following a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Arizona uses two voter registration forms: the state one that requires proof of citizenship and a federal-only form that only requires a person to attest they are a U.S. citizen.
According to the Arizona Clean Elections Commission, a federal-only voter is only allowed to cast a ballot in federal elections, which include the President, U.S. Senator, and U.S. House of Representatives.
In their brief, the Republican lawmakers argue that a lower court should not have the final say when altering election rules based on precedent.
“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 filing reads.
They also say that continuing to keep the 2022 law from being enforced is an infringement on the legislature's lawmaking functions.
“The injunction thwarts the Legislature from disallowing individuals who have not proved their U.S. citizenship from participating in Arizona’s selection of its presidential electors or from using Arizona’s generous mail-in voting option…In doing so, the injunction abrogates the Arizona Legislature’s constitutional power to prescribe qualifications to vote for presidential electors.”
The request for an immediate stay comes as the state is less than 100 days from the General Election. The lawsuit says that if the state were to move forward with stopping individuals who did not provide proof of citizenship from voting in presidential elections, “Arizona must either not print the presidential candidates on federal-only ballots, or configure its tabulation machines not to count presidential votes on federal-only ballots.”
The request does not address U.S. Senate or House races on a federal-only ballot.
Those who oppose the 2022 law, like Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, say that it creates an undue burden on federal-only voters.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that this is a red herring,” Fontes said in May. “There is no evidence of fraud and undocumented voting. The 2024 election is weeks away and acting now to restrict the voting rights of a large group of Arizona’s voters is anti-democratic – making it harder to vote and confusing for these valid voters who signed an affidavit that they are citizens under the penalty of perjury.”
But the court filing counters the argument by saying that there is “no evidence that Arizona’s documentary proof of citizenship requirement ‘will in fact impede any qualified voter from registering to vote or staying on the voter rolls.’”
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