A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down two Arizona election integrity laws last week. HB 2492 and HB 2243, sponsored by Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) when he was in the State House, were enacted in 2022. Far left groups along with the DNC, the Arizona Democratic Party, and the Biden Administration’s DOJ Civil Rights Division filed lawsuits challenging the laws. HB 2492 required voters to provide documented proof of citizenship (DPOC) in order to vote in the presidential election or by mail, and in order to register to vote in state and local elections. HB 2243 required county recorders to regularly clean the voter rolls to remove noncitizens. The panel held that the laws violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Civil Rights Act.
State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) posted on X that he would be appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.
“It’s a new year but we have the same, old Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, playing familiar games of judicial activism,” he said in a statement. “Mere months after being overturned by the Supreme Court in this matter, the Ninth Circuit shockingly ignored the Constitution by blazing an independent trail to reach a very different conclusion. This radicalism undermines confidence in our judicial system, and it has negative consequences for the fabric of our Republic. Legislative Republicans are already working to return to the Supreme Court in defense of Arizona election integrity, and we intend to win.”
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC), which helped draft the legislation, issued a statement denouncing the “outrageous” ruling. “It’s clear this circuit court panel is motivated by radical ideology, and not the impartial judgment of the law,” said Scot Mussi, President of AFEC. “After months of legal wrangling over this law, and clear guidance from the nation’s high court, the Ninth Circuit still wrongly believes that it is the final arbiter of the U.S. Constitution and our laws. This ruling will continue to sow doubt into our system of government and will cost much more in taxpayer dollars thanks to the emergency appeal that will be again filed at the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times
Subscribe to email updates from the Arizona Sun Times