Supreme Court to Review Arizona’s Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Rules and Limits on Removing Noncitizens

The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether Arizona can require documentary proof of citizenship when people register to vote on a state form. The justices will also examine whether federal law prevents the state from imposing the tightened rules and from reviewing voter rolls to cancel registrations of noncitizens. Arizona adopted two laws in 2022.

One requires applicants using a state registration form to provide proof of citizenship. The second directs election officials to review voter rolls and remove registrations of noncitizens. Applicants can still register using a federal form that does not require proof of citizenship.

Those registrants are limited to federal elections and cannot vote for president or by mail. Court records showed more than 19,000 Arizonans registered as federal-only voters as of July 2023, CBS News reported. A federal district court ruled that election officials could not reject state voter registration forms lacking proof of citizenship.

The court also held that Arizona could not systematically cancel voter registrations within 90 days of a federal election. A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the district court's order barring enforcement of the laws.

Arizona has continued to enforce the citizenship rule for state-form registrations while litigation continues, CBS News reported. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in its next term, which begins in October. The Trump administration urged the court to take up one of the appeals from the Republican National Committee involving the proof-of-citizenship requirement and the voter-roll review program, CBS News reported.

The Democratic National Committee, the Arizona Democratic Party and nonprofit organizations filed lawsuits seeking to block enforcement. Plaintiffs argued the provisions violated or were preempted by the National Voting Registration Act and a 2018 consent decree.