Arizona Officials Sue Over Proof Of Citizenship Requirement

August 21, 2013

Arizona’s Attorney General and Secretary of State have filed suit against the Elections Assistance Commission to allow the state to require residents to prove they are United States citizens when they register to vote.

Arizona voters approved the requirement in 2004, as part of Proposition 200. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year the provision is pre-empted by federal law. The court did say Arizona could ask the federal Elections Assistance Commission to include the state’s requirement on the federal voter registration form – and that Arizona could sue if the commission failed to do so.

The suit was filed Wednesday morning along with one from the Kansas Secretary of State, Kris Kobach, who helped write Arizona’s immigration enforcement law SB 1070. It asks for a court order which would force the commission to include a proof of citizenship requirement on the federal registration form.

The issue is complicated, though, by the fact that the commission doesn’t currently have any members.