Arizona appeal to Supreme Court
to continue citizenship requirement

Arizona asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday for permission to continue requiring proof of citizenship from those who seek to register to vote. State officials asked this as Arizona prepares to appeal an April ruling that eliminated the requirement from the state’s voter-ID law.

Solicitor General Dave Cole said that the proof-of-citizenship requirement should stay in place for the November election.

Arizona law directed county officials to reject any registration document not accompanied by proof of citizenship. But a 1993 federal law requires only a sworn statement of citizenship on federal registration forms. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in April found that Arizona’s law conflicted with federal law, and struck the citizenship requirement. The state plans to appeal to the Supreme Court by its July 16 deadline.

“The basic issue is the extent to which the federal and state forms conflict, and the extent to which the federal government can say, ‘Look, we have full authority to do this and the states can’t do anything,’” Cole said.

By Jack Fitzpatrick, News21