WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Republican
National Committee's (RNC) case defending Arizona's commonsense proof of
citizenship requirement and the fundamental principle that only American
citizens should vote in American elections.
"Only American
citizens should vote in American elections. It's the law and it's supported by
the overwhelming majority of Americans,” said RNC Chairman Joe
Gruters. “Democrats
sued to block Arizona's proof of citizenship law and stop the state from
removing noncitizens from its voter rolls. The RNC is proud to lead this
effort, and we will keep fighting nationwide to defend election integrity and
ensure only eligible citizens cast a 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
