Supreme Court Strikes Down AZ Voter Registration Requirement

In a strong blow against conservative efforts to restrict access to voting, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday to strike down Arizona Proposition 200, which required people to submit proof of citizenship when they register to vote under the federal “motor voter” registration law. The 7-2 decision, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, is a considerable defeat for conservative politicians banging the war drum against voter fraud and targeting minorities and legal immigrants throughout the United States. More importantly, the Supreme Court decision is a major forward step towards less voter suppression and greater citizen access to electoral polls.
The Supreme Court Strikes Down Arizona Voter Registration Citizenship Requirement
June 17, 2013
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Huffington Post
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states cannot on their own require would-be voters to prove they are U.S. citizens before using a federal registration system designed to make signing up easier.
The justices voted 7-2 to throw out Arizona’s voter-approved requirement that prospective voters document their U.S. citizenship in order to use a registration form produced under the federal “Motor Voter” voter registration law.
Federal law “precludes Arizona from requiring a federal form applicant to submit information beyond that required by the form itself,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the court’s majority.
The court was considering the legality of Arizona’s requirement that prospective voters document their U.S. citizenship in order to use a registration form produced under the federal “motor voter” registration law. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which doesn’t require such documentation, trumps Arizona’s Proposition 200 passed in 2004.
Read the rest of this story on Huffington Post here.