Ariz. judge upholds proof of citizenship for voters

PHOENIX – A federal judge on Thursday ruled in favor of laws tightening voting restrictions for state elections and said the Arizona laws did not violate civil rights.

Arizona District Judge Susan Bolton ruled over a 2023 bench trial that oversaw complaints originating from the Department of Justice and seven different advocacy groups on two Arizona house bills that they claimed were discriminatory against minority voters in Arizona.

Bolton said the plaintiffs of the case “failed to show that (the) voting laws were enacted with any discriminatory purpose.”

House bills 2492 and 2243 were both passed by the Arizona Legislature in 2022 and tightened the requirements for voters’ citizenship and whether they could participate in state elections and through what means. HB 2492 made it lawful to require proof of citizenship to participate in state elections while HB 2243 required the quarterly reporting of the number of Arizona voters who did not list their citizenship status.

Bolton said the aimed goals of the laws to ensure fair voting processes addressed justified concerns while avoiding direct discriminatory practices. Bolton did note in her ruling that Arizona’s requirement for state election voters to list their place of birth violated the Civil Rights Act and National Voter Registration Act. She added that Arizona cannot reject state election forms without proof of citizenship, as long as the individual registers as a federal-only voter and is otherwise able to qualified to vote in the election.