Proof of Citizenship
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution stipulates that the right to vote in federal elections for the Senate, House of Representatives and presidency is limited to U.S. citizens.
With few exceptions, most state constitutions explicitly authorize only resident citizens to vote in state and local elections.
Currently, there is no state or national database or system to verify the citizenship of voters. Many states utilize self-reported citizenship information from non-citizen residents, but some use the national Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program database at the Department of Homeland Security to assist in verifying citizenship status. Several states attempting to prevent non-citizen voting have enacted laws requiring proof of U.S. citizenship of registrants when registering to vote.
Our current honor system on the part of registrants under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 includes a provision that created a federal voter registration form that requires applicants under penalty of perjury to check a “yes” or “no” box as to whether they are U.S. citizens. However, the federal form does not require any proof of citizenship, and its use has been shown to be ineffective in deterring non-citizens from registering to vote.
This issue has been hotly contested in the courts with advocates for this sensible safeguard against fraudulent voter registration up against a solid flank of left-wing groups such as Common Cause, Project Vote, the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union.
In April 2015, the ACRU filed an amicus brief in Kobach v. United States Election Assistance Commission at the U.S. Supreme Court that included evidence that non-citizens in Texas were registering to vote using the federal form. On June 29, 2015, the Supreme Court denied Kansas’s and Arizona’s writ of certiorari petition, thus letting stand a 10th Circuit ruling that the states may not require applicants using the federal voter registration form to show documents proving citizenship when registering to vote in federal races.
ACRU Commentary
News
Sensenbrenner Works with Far Left Groups on Voting Rights Act
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) this week announced his intention to pass a bill "reforming" the Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act last year. As J. Christian Adams reported: " [Sensenbrenner's bill would] radically expand federal power over state elections. It would give Attorney General Eric Holder expansive new federal powers over state elections, including the ability to barge into polling places to monitor the use of foreign language election materials. It would also give Holder the power to block election integrity measures like Voter ID and citizenship verification." Holder has earned a reputation for being one of the most partisan attorneys general in American history, litigating against states that have chosen to adopt election security reforms including voter ID. On Friday, Jan. 17, Sensenbrenner was to hold a conference call to discuss his bill. He was to be joined on the call by far-left leaders, including Nancy Zirkin of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Deborah Vagins of the ACLU, and Tanya Clay House, from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.
Kansas, Arizona Seek to Have Feds Require Citizenship on Forms
(CNSNews.com) - The Secretaries of State of Kansas and Arizona are trying to force the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to change federal voter registration forms, which do not require documented proof of U.S. citizenship, to match their state forms, which do. Their lawsuit (Kobach, Bennett v EAC) is scheduled to be heard next week in U.S. District Court in Wichita.
Kansas, Arizona Sue U.S. over Citizenship Issue
Kansas and Arizona have sued the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, seeking a court order forcing it to amend voter registration forms for those states so that people signing up are required to prove they're citizens.
Arizona Ruling Partly Blocks Georgia Voter ID Law
Last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling partly blocks Georgia from enforcing a law requiring would-be voters to prove U.S. citizenship, Secretary of State Brian Kemp said. In a 7-2 decision on June 24, the court ruled a similar statute in Arizona is pre-empted by federal law. Passed in 2009, Georgia's law requires voter registration applicants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, such as copies of passports or birth certificates.
Arizona Argues Its Case at Supreme Court
Arizona Attorney General Thomas C. Horne told the Supreme Court on Monday that states carry the "burden" of determining voter eligibility and they can demand residents prove their citizenship before registering to vote. Conservative-leaning Justice Antonin Scalia seemed to agree with Arizona, saying a sworn oath of citizenship "is not proof at all." Arizona and its supporters -- including other states with plans for similar laws -- say a signature isn't enough to combat voter fraud. And they argue the federal voting-rights law doesn't say that states can't impose additional citizenship requirements.
Supreme Court Hears Arizona Voter ID Case
With the fate of a crucial provision of the Voting Rights Act hanging in the balance, the Supreme Court hears another case challenging the right of a state to put in place new voting requirements Monday. At stake in the case--Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.-- is whether or not an Arizona law requiring Arizonans to show proof of citizenship at the voting booth will be upheld.