A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel of three justices issued an order on Thursday allowing part of Arizona’s new law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in state and local elections to remain in effect during appeals litigation. However, the panel upheld the trial court’s decision blocking some of the law.
Consequently, those who request an application to vote only in federal elections will not be required to show proof of citizenship. This could substantially affect the presidential race and highly contentious federal races like Arizona’s U.S. Senate race between Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake.
State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) and the Senate Republicans, who were intervenors in the case, issued a statement on X. “This is a victory for election integrity in Arizona,” Petersen said. “Only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in our elections. It sounds like common sense, but the radical left elected officials in our state continue to reject this notion, disrespecting the voices of our lawful Arizona voters. We are grateful the court is upholding this provision in our law, and it’s time for Congress to take action to ensure only lawful U.S. citizens are voting in federal races.”
HB 2492, sponsored by State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), required proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, with the exception of voting in congressional elections, which the Supreme Court held in 2013 was pre-empted by federal law.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times