Voter Suppression Laws Remain Blocked in Arizona
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that blocked key provisions of two Arizona laws demanding documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to vote in presidential elections when using the federal voter registration form and lowering the barrier for county election officials to cancel registrations.
The three-judge panel called the challenged provisions “unlawful measures of voter suppression” in their opinion Tuesday. It comes after Republican state leaders last Friday asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to change its long-standing position against the restrictive laws. One of the leaders, Arizona State Senate President Warren Peterson, vowed to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
In addition to affirming the illegality of the challenged provisions, the 9th Circuit suggested that the district court erred in determining one of the laws was not passed with the intention to discriminate. The district court was ordered to evaluate their analysis on the issue.
In 2022, then-governor Doug Ducey (R) signed into law two pieces of legislation that complicated voter registration in an effort to prevent the nearly nonexistent problem of noncitizen voting.
House Bill 2492 requires voters to provide DPOC when voting for president or by mail even if they register using the federal form, which does not require it. Voters who registered before the proof of citizenship requirement was implemented have to retroactively provide DPOC to vote. Voters who register using the state form must check a box affirming their citizenship and provide documentary proof of residency or state their birthplace.
Arizona has a bifurcated voter registration program, where voters can register using the federal or state form. Previously, those who used the federal form who did not present DPOC or have one on file in state databases were only allowed to vote for federal offices like president. These individuals were called “federal-only” voters. Voters who used the state registration form and provided DPOC or anyone who had a DPOC on file were allowed to vote the full ballot, including federal, state and local offices.
HB 2492 also allows the Arizona attorney general to investigate voters with missing citizenship statuses.
The second statute, House Bill 2243, requires county recorders to cancel a voter’s registration if they receive information that a voter is not eligible or they have “reason to believe” a voter is not a U.S. citizen.
In March 2022, the Biden DOJ, the Democratic National Committee and pro-voting groups brought lawsuits challenging the laws for violating the Constitution, the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act. The separate lawsuits were later consolidated into one.
A federal district court blocked HB 2243 from being implemented during the 2022 midterms, and then struck down key provisions of both laws in 2023 and early 2024. The decision prevented Arizona officials from requiring DPOC for federal elections or cancelling registrations based on a suspicion of citizenship status. Neither law was ever implemented during the years-long litigation.
The Republican National Committee and state GOP lawmakers appealed to the 9th Circuit in May. On Aug. 2, 2024, the circuit court rejected the Republicans’ request to temporarily pause the ruling for the 2024 election.
However, a few weeks later, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a partial pause of the lower court’s ruling, requiring new voters using the state registration form to provide DPOC and preventing new federal-only voters from voting if county officials could not find DPOC on file. While the rest of the challenged provisions are blocked, these rules are in place until SCOTUS decides whether to hear the case once Republicans appeal today’s decision.