J. Christian Adams explains yesterday’s Supreme Court decision on Arizona’ citizenship requirement for voter registration in this article. Adam’s does a great job explaining what the Court did yesterday was a win for all of us who believe that a to prove citizenship is a simple and common-sense requirement for voter registration and a BIG loss for the liberal Left.
In my blog yesterday, I suggested that all Arizona would have to do is petition the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to include state specific instructions on the Federal Registration Form “necessary to assess the eligibility of the applicant”. But, Adams (a lawyer) explains that the opinion written by Justice Scalia will allow states to use a state form and still require voters to prove citizenship “when voters use a state, as opposed to a federal, form, they can still be required to prove citizenship. The federal form is irrelevant in that circumstance.”
Justice Scalia wrote in his opinion, ” We note, however, that while the NVRA forbids States to demand that an applicant submit additional information beyond that required by the Federal Form, it does not preclude States from “deny[ing] registration based on information in their possession establishing the applicant’s ineligibility.”
I believe yesterday’s opinion opens the door for all states – yes, even North Carolina – to move ahead with a requirement to prove citizenship before a person registers to vote.
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