Citizenship for Voting Not Required
By Brent E. Zepke, Esq.
Republicans believe proof of citizenship should be required to vote in state, local, and federal elections. Democrats believe it should not be required.
The United States Supreme Court, on August 22, 2024, weighed in on the issue in a case involving Arizona that has already impacted California.
Arizona’s Two-Tier Registration System
Arizona has a two-track system for registering voters, in which two different forms – one state and one federal – with different requirements, are used.
In Arizona, registering for voting in state and local elections requires the showing of documentary proof of citizenship, much as did the local law in Huntington Beach, California.
In Arizona, registering for voting in federal elections follow federal law in not requiring the showing of proof of citizenship but, instead, applicants are required under penalty of law to swear that they are U.S. citizens.
The result is that eligible voters who submitted the state’s registration form without proof of citizenship would be registered for only federal elections, unless election officials could access a record of proof of citizenship the voter had previously provided to Arizona’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Why the difference?
Federal Law
The federal government assumed control over states’ voting requirements in federal elections when Democrats – with a super majority in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives – passed The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson (D).
In 1993, when Democrats – for the first time since 1979 – again had control of both houses of the U.S. Congress, passed the National Voting Rights Act of 1993, signed into law by President Bill Clinton (D). That Act does not require proof of U.S. citizenship but only that applicants swear under penalty of law that they are U.S. citizens.
In 2013, in Shelby County vs Holder (President Barack Obama’s Attorney General Eric Holder) 570 U.S. 529 (2013), the Supreme Court held that states had to accept and use the standard form required by the National Voter Registration Act (1993), which does not require proof of citizenship.
Arizona Law
In 2022, Arizona’s GOP passed a new law that bans registered voters who have not provided proof of citizenship from voting in presidential elections or by mail for any federal office, such as the presidency and the U.S. senate.
The U.S. Justice Department sued, and Clinton-appointed U.S. district Judge Susan Bolton struck down the restriction. The Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) then sued Arizona and Judge Bolton struck down the requirement for proof of citizenship.
Arizona’s appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held against them.
Arizona’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was supported by two dozen Republican state attorneys general, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, and were backed by the RNC, which filed amicus, or friend-of-the court, briefs to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Non-Decisions
On August 22, 2024, the Republican appointed Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, indicated they would uphold Arizona’s law requiring proof of citizenship in both state and federal elections.
Self-labeled “moderate” Justice John Roberts granted Arizona the right to reject state voter registration forms that do not include proof of citizenship but sent the state’s requiring proof of citizenship for federal elections back to the 9th Circuit.
Democrat-appointed Justices Ketanji Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, joined by Republican-appointed justice Amy Barrett dissented, and wanted to deny Arizona the right to require proof of citizenship in state or federal elections.
Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito signaled an interest in weighing-in more fully.
That leaves Arizona without a requirement to show U.S. citizenship for the November 2024 federal elections, impacting the selection of the president and senate, and perhaps affecting the entire country.
November 2024 Elections
Justice Roberts did not agree with the requirement of proof of citizenship for federal elections, but instead sent the issue back to the 9th Circuit, from which it probably will, again, be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Justice Roberts left the requirement of showing proof of citizenship an open legal question for future presidential elections after 2024.
However, since the 9th Circuit’s scheduling of oral arguments on September 10, and registration for voting ends October 7, the 9th Circuit’s previous ruling denying Arizona the right to require proof of citizenship in federal elections will be applicable for the November 2024 elections.
Impact
The 2020 election in Arizona, a state of 7.41 million, was decided by less than 11,000 votes, meaning that if half of those voters, or 5,500, changed their votes, the results would have been different.
As of July 1, 2024, the Arizona Secretary of State has a list 43,301 voters registered for only federal elections, where proof of citizenship is not required.
Nationwide, the entire election in 2020 was decided by 43,000 votes. Since then, the Biden-Harris administration has assisted more than ten million non-citizens to enter the U.S. That team has instructed the entire U.S. government to run a “Get out and vote” campaign. The risk to non-citizens of falsely swearing they are citizens is minimal, and if caught, their “deportation” will likely enable them to walk back into the U.S. with little effort or negative impact.
Federal Elections
Democrats in the U.S. Congress are considering the John R. Lewis Act to assume responsibility over elections in the states they select.
California
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Huntington Beach, but before the court could rule, the heavily Democrat legislature passed SB 1174 that denied Huntington Beach the right to require proof of citizenship in local elections.
The law in California does not require proof of citizenship for any election, but instead only requires drivers’ licenses and a California ID number (obtained from DMV with proof of residency) or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Conclusion
A vote for a Democrat is a vote for allowing the government the right to deny requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote.
A Message from Thomas Cole, Candidate for Congress, District 24
Paid for by Thomas Cole for Congress FEC #C00842757. To learn more about Thomas Cole, his platform, and his campaign, please go to www.thomascoleforcongress.com or call him directly at +1 (805) 637-4702.
The Dems don't stop at not requiring proof of citizenship. They also don't require proof of being alive.
It used to be a point of pride that you were able to vote because YOU WERE A CITIZEN OF THE NATION.
Now you have people who are laughing at the nation and the requirement for citizenship to vote. What do you think would happen if a non-citizen tried to vote in Mexico? Is there a finger print requirement? Yep. Is voting restricted to citizens? Yep.
So why do the anti US majority roaming the nation allowed to vote and change the outcomes of elections. It is time to stop this.