DOJ sues Arizona over proof of citizenship voting law | Eastern NC Now

BY: KIRA LERNER at Idaho Capital Sun  

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced Tuesday that it has sued Arizona over a law signed by the state’s Republican governor in March that requires people registering to vote prove their citizenship to participate in a presidential election or to vote by mail in any federal election.

Republican proponents of the law, HB 2492, claim that requiring voters to provide a documentary proof of citizenship, like a birth certificate or passport, helps prevent voter fraud. But voting rights advocates say that non-citizen voting is extremely rare, and the law will disenfranchise voters who will have to jump through additional hurdles to be eligible to vote.    

“HB 2492’s onerous documentary proof of citizenship requirement for certain federal elections constitutes a textbook violation of the National Voter Registration Act,” in addition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a press call Tuesday.

The law is set to take effect in January, despite a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Arizona couldn’t require voters using the federal voter registration form to provide proof of citizenship. The high court did allow Arizona to continue allowing proof of citizenship for state elections. 

Rest of article at:

https://idahocapitalsun.com/2022/07/05/u-s-sues-arizona-over-proof-of-citizenship-voting-law/