In a big win for Arizona voters, two anti-voter laws that unfairly targeted Latino, Native and student voters were shot down by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 2022, Arizona passed two restrictive laws that required voters to provide extra documents proving their citizenship and provide their birthplace in order to vote in state and local elections.
Voters also had to provide those documents to be allowed to vote by mail or in the presidential election.
The laws also created another layer of documentation requirements to prove residency to vote in any election. These laws also allowed state officials to investigate and purge voters’ registrations based on old and faulty information.
Together, these laws create an unfair, discriminatory and confusing system that makes it much harder for all Americans to exercise their freedom to vote. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has been fighting on behalf of our clients for years, and this ruling is a clear win for Arizona voters.
There is no reason voters should have to jump through these extra hoops to cast their ballots.
We already have strict laws to ensure that only eligible American citizens vote in federal elections. When registering to vote, all voters must already swear that they are U.S. citizens and residents of the state where they vote.
Lying about your citizenship or residency on a voter registration form can lead to serious consequences, like deportation or jail time.
People of color, as well as young and elderly people, are more likely to have difficulty in accessing these proof of citizenship documents. Additional proof of residency requirements discriminate against Native voters who often lack traditional street addresses.
Arizona voters and community organizations stepped up to challenge these discriminatory laws in court and won.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is proud to have represented our clients, Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Arizona Students’ Association (ASA), the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA), the San Carlos Apache Tribe, Arizona Coalition for Change and Arizona Democracy Resource Center (ADRC), in this lawsuit.
Thanks to this important victory, Arizonans will be able to exercise their freedom to vote without unnecessary burdens and restrictions.
Our democracy is strongest when every American can make their voice heard. This victory will ensure that Arizonans can do just that.
Without this win, thousands of Arizonans would have been silenced. Congress should keep this in mind as it considers the SAVE Act, which would make unfair restrictions like those struck down in Arizona the norm across the country.
With your support, CLC will continue to fight for every American’s freedom to vote and participate meaningfully in the democratic process.