Federal Court: New Voters Registering in Arizona Must Prove Citizenship

The decision applies only to people using a state form.

An election worker scans mail in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on on November 7, 2022 Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

People who register to vote in Arizona using a state form must provide proof they are a U.S. citizen, according to a new ruling.

A panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a request from Republicans to reinstate parts of House Bill 2492, a law legislators in Arizona passed in 2022 that was partially blocked by a federal judge in February.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled then, that requiring proof of citizenship while using a state registration form violates several federal laws “because the provision will result in the investigation of only naturalized citizens,” if county recorder happens to subjectively suspect the person registering is a non-citizen.

U.S. Circuit Court Judges Bridget Bade, Kenneth Kiyul Lee, and Danielle Forrest said that Republicans showed sufficient standing to impose a stay on Judge Bolton’s ruling pertaining to the provision.

That means people using a state voter registration form must show they are citizens by providing documentation such as a birth certificate.

The stay is set to remain in place pending the outcome of the appeal of the ruling. A panel of judges is set to hear the case later this year.

The judges, however, turned down requests from Republicans to reinstate other portions of House Bill 2243 and House Bill 2492 that Judge Bolton had blocked.

“Appellants have failed to satisfy the standard for a stay pending appeal in all other respects,” the panel stated.

Those provisions include requiring election officials to check records from the Social Security Administration and other databases to see if people who do not provide proof of citizenship are in fact citizens.

Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson, a Republican, said in a statement that the ruling was a victory for election integrity.

“Only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in our elections. It sounds like common sense, but the radical left elected officials in our state continue to reject this notion, disrespecting the voices of our lawful Arizona voters,” he said. “We are grateful the court is upholding this provision in our law, and it’s time for Congress to take action to ensure only lawful U.S. citizens are voting in federal races.”

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said on the social media platform X that he and other recorders in the state would immediately start rejecting all state registration forms that did not include proof of citizenship.

He noted that recorders still must accept registrations that use a federal form (rather than a state form) even if they do not include proof of citizenship, provided the people attest they are U.S. citizens, per a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found the National Voter Registration Act prevented Arizona from requiring proof of citizenship for people using the federal form.