Arizona State Attorney General Tom Horne is blasting President Barack Obama for getting involved in another Arizona lawsuit. The federal government has filed court documents supporting a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to strike down Arizona’s voter-approved requirement that residents provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote.
The court ruled that the National Voter Registration Act pre-empts Arizona’s Proposition 200, which was passed by voters in 2004. The state successfully asked the court to reconsider the decision and an 11-member judge panel of the Appeals Court will rehear it June 21 in Pasadena, Calif. Among its provisions, the National Voter Registration Act creates a standard federal registration form that all states must accept. It requires applicants to sign a statement that they are citizens, but does not require them to show any proof.
Prop. 200 requires applicants, regardless of whether they are submitting a federal registration form or a state one, to provide a driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, tribal-identification or naturalization-certification number.
In its October decision, the Appeals Court ruled that Arizona’s requirement conflicts with the federal act, which requires states to make registration opportunities “widely available” and removes obstacles to voter registration.
On Friday, the federal government filed a court brief arguing that Proposition 200 is pre-empted by the federal voter registration act and that Congress intentionally forbids states from requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote.
Full Article: Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne angry at feds’ brief.