WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican National Committee is taking its fight to defend proof-of-citizenship voting requirements to the nation’s highest court, teeing up a battle over states' rights to keep noncitizens from voting in American elections.
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Boom! One
of the Biggest Election Integrity Cases Is Heading to the Supreme Court
RedState
September
1, 2026
"One
of the biggest election-integrity battles in the country is officially headed
to the Supreme Court.
The
Republican National Committee is taking its fight to defend Arizona's
proof-of-citizenship requirements all the way to the nation's highest court,
setting up a potentially landmark ruling over a question that sounds almost
absurdly basic:
Can a
state require people registering to vote to prove they are American citizens?
RNC
Chairman Joe Gruters announced Sunday that the organization will argue the
Arizona case before the Supreme Court this fall.
“At stake
is a principle so basic that most Americans would be shocked it is even being
debated: Can states verify citizenship before someone is added to their voter
rolls?” Gruters wrote.
“The
answer should be obvious.”
It is
obvious. Federal law already makes it unlawful for noncitizens to vote in
federal elections. Arizona's position is essentially that if citizenship is a
legal qualification for voting, election officials should be allowed to verify
that qualification before placing someone on the voter rolls.
The legal
fight has been brewing for more than two decades. Arizona voters overwhelmingly
approved Proposition 200 in 2004, requiring applicants to provide documentary
proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The measure received roughly 56
percent of the vote.
[...]
The
Democratic National Committee and voting-rights groups challenged key
provisions of the law, including requirements involving documentary proof of
citizenship and procedures for handling voters whose citizenship status could
not be confirmed.
These
shameless activist groups have the nerve to argue that demanding voters prove
they have the right to vote in elections is a form of “voter suppression.”
They may
have a point: It is illegal voter suppression.
Now the
RNC is asking the Supreme Court to settle a major part of the dispute.
“The
Supreme Court must now decide whether states have the authority to enforce one
of the most fundamental qualifications for voting: American citizenship,”
Gruters wrote.
“The RNC
is leading the legal battle to defend Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship
requirement after Democrats went to court to block the law and prevent the
state from removing noncitizens from its voter rolls.”
The
implications go far beyond Arizona. If the Supreme Court provides states
greater latitude to verify citizenship when registering voters, the ruling
could establish important parameters for election-integrity laws around the
country at a time when citizenship verification has become one of the hottest
issues in American elections..."
