An Arizona law requiring voters to show proof of citizenship in order to vote is not discriminatory, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
In 2022, the Republican-controlled legislature enacted laws requiring voters to validate their citizenship to be able to vote by mail or in presidential elections. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton decided that the state’s 2022 voting laws did not discriminate against minority groups or undocumented citizens and that the state had an interest in preventing voter fraud, the Associated Press reported.
“Considering the evidence as a whole, the court concludes that Arizona’s interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizona’s elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to provide [documentary proof of citizenship],” Bolton wrote in the ruling.
Bolton did say that a provision of the law requiring registrants to list their country of birth violated the Civil Rights Act and part of the National Voter Registration Act, which required states to provide opportunities for individuals to register to vote when applying for a driver’s license or government aid.
House Bill 2492 would require election staff to cross reference registrants’ proof of citizenship with government databases before voting in federal elections, where previously federal forms required individuals to swear they were U.S. citizens without proof, the outlet reported.
After the laws were passed, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit claiming that the measures violated the National Voter Registration Act. Voting rights advocacy groups also argued that the new measures would make it more difficult for people to register to vote.
The stricter voting laws were a result of President Joe Biden’s narrow win in Arizona during the 2020 presidential election, where he beat former President Donald Trump by 0.3%. Then-Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) claimed that 11,000 voters who cast their ballot in the 2020 election did not provide proof of citizenship.
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In her ruling, Bolton reinforced that the laws were not established with the intent to suppress or discriminate against minority groups from voting.
“Nor do these provisions impose an undue burden on the right to vote or violate the equal protection and due process guarantees of the U.S. constitution,” Bolton wrote. “Finally, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs failed to show that the Voting Laws were enacted with any discriminatory purpose.”
