WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Today, the Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a cert
petition urging the Supreme Court of the United States to
uphold and enforce Arizona’s commonsense documentary proof-of-citizenship
requirement for voter registration. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters released the
following statement:
“Over two
decades ago, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved a commonsense law requiring
documentary proof of citizenship to vote,” said Chairman Gruters.
“It is unacceptable that, more than 20 years later, the RNC must still step in
to defend the clear will of Arizonans against the Democratic Party and leftist
advocacy groups. Federal law is clear: only U.S. citizens have the right to
vote in American elections. The RNC will never stop fighting to protect our
democracy and the integrity of every Arizona voter’s ballot.”
Background:
- In 2004, Arizona voters passed Proposition
200, which mandates that residents provide satisfactory
evidence of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote for the first time.
- Today’s case stems from
Arizona’s 2022 election integrity law, House
Bill 2492, which safeguards the state’s voter registration
process by ensuring only eligible U.S. citizens can register to vote.
- This law empowers state
officials to verify citizenship, allows them to remove non-citizens from
its rolls, and restores trust in Arizona election processes.
- In
August 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States correctly allowed
Arizona to continue enforcing this law.
- In
October 2024, the Supreme Court permitted the Commonwealth of Virginia to
remove non-citizens from its rolls leading up to the 2024 election.
- In February 2025,
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ignored the Supreme Court's
direction in both the Arizona and Virginia cases and sided with
the Democratic National Committee and advocacy groups
like Mi Familia Vota by upholding a block on key provisions
of Arizona's 2022 election integrity laws.
- This panel decision undermines
Arizona’s constitutional authority to secure its own elections.
- This lawsuit follows RNC
efforts defending President Trump’s election integrity Executive
Order as well as other key victories in North
Carolina, Georgia,
Michigan,
and Texas.
- More background can be found here.
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