The US Supreme Court has granted the Republicans’ request and partially reinstated an Arizona state law that requires proof of American citizenship for voter registration.
In a 5-4 ruling, the justices reinstated part of a 2022 law that rejected such forms if the voter did not provide proof of citizenship.
A full reinstatement of the law would have disqualified more than 41,000 people from voting in November’s election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The administration of President Joe Biden, who won Arizona by just over 10,000 votes in 2020, had filed a lawsuit to stop the law.
Thursday’s ruling revived the part of Arizona law that requires state residents to show proof of American citizenship in order to register to vote.
However, she opposed the provision of the law that required voters who had used a separate federal registration form to submit appropriate documentation.
Michael Whatley, chairman of the RNC, said the ruling was a “major victory for election integrity. American elections must be decided by American citizens.”
However, the outcome is expected to have little impact on the upcoming general election because it will not affect Arizona residents already registered to vote. According to the Arizona Republic newspaper.
The law was enacted in March 2022 by Doug Ducey, then Republican governor, to strike a balance between what he saw as voting accessibility and election security.
In July of that year, the Biden administration filed suit to overturn the law, arguing that it had been replaced by a 1993 federal law called the National Voter Registration Act.
Interest groups also filed petitions against the measure in Arizona.
Last September, Phoenix-based U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton granted the lawsuit, blocking documentary proof requirements at both the state and federal levels.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco declined to overturn Judge Bolton’s ruling.
This led the Republican National Committee and Arizona Republicans to file an emergency petition with the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, five conservative judges granted the Republicans’ request. A sixth conservative, Amy Coney Barrett, joined the three liberal judges in their opposition.
Arizona, which is expected to be one of the most competitive states in the upcoming elections, is a flashpoint in the dispute over election law.
It is the only state that requires voters to present a birth certificate, passport or one of a few other documents to prove their citizenship.
A closely watched Republican review of the 2020 presidential election found no evidence that irregularities marred Biden’s narrow victory over Trump.
