Litigation News

Prop. 200 Federal District Court Hearing

Arguments Regarding Proof of Citizenship Requirement on Federal Voter Registration form “I was heartened by today's court proceeding in which the court appeared to clearly understand Arizona's right to determine eligibility for voter registration. Over one million voters spoke clearly when they passed Proposition 200 into law in 2004.

To protect the integrity of the voting process, that law requires all Arizona voter registration applications to be accompanied by satisfactory evidence of citizenship. The questions asked by the court made apparent its understanding about the need for a registration system that is open to all eligible voters but at the same time provides states the ability to prevent voter fraud by verifying the eligibility of registrants.

It is appropriate that all voter registrants swear under penalty of law that they are citizens when they register. It is inappropriate, however, to prevent any state or local election official from simply trying to verify citizenship when registering to vote. Proposition 200 strikes the appropriate balance and I am hopeful the court will uphold its voting integrity provisions.

It disappoints me that I am having to spend time defending the state against two lawsuits challenging Proposition 200 which serve only to tie up our already bogged down court system simply because detractors were unable to win the debate at the polls.”

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