New voters using Arizona registration forms must prove citizenship, federal court says

A federal appeals court handed a victory on Thursday to Republicans who have been fighting to uphold a proof-of-citizenship requirement in state law.

Going forward, the ruling applies to people who register to vote in Arizona using the state form and don't provide documents showing they are U.S. citizens. Until now, those voters have been able to register by attesting to citizenship when they sign the state registration form and have been limited to voting only in federal races.

That practice will not be allowed, at least not for now, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided. It stayed an injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton but left room for an appeal.

The panel rejected the Republicans' requests to stay Bolton's injunction on other parts of the election-related bill. Those include a requirement that election officials check registrations from people who do not provide documents proving citizenship against other databases, such as the Social Security Administration's records or records maintained by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The ruling would apply to voter registrations going forward and apparently would not have any effect on voting in the July 30 primary election. Voter registration for this month's election closed July 1.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer made that clear in a social media post after the ruling was published.

"As of today, we 15 Arizona county recorders will reject all STATE REGISTRATION FORMS that do not provide documented proof of citizenship," he said in a post on X.

He also noted the case is still being litigated.

Read the document: Federal appeals court ruling on proof-of-citizenship requirement

The "federal-only" voter list has been part of Arizona election law for more than a decade. While Arizona has required proof of citizenship for decades to vote in state and local elections, federal law does not. But the 9th Circuit panel found the request from state GOP legislative leaders and the Republican National Committee met the standard for a stay on the injunction.

There are about 35,000 "federal only" voters in Arizona, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

Sen. Jake Hoffman, the author of the bill requiring documentary proof of citizenship, called the panel's decision "a great victory for the people of Arizona. Requiring proof of citizenship to vote isn’t a partisan issue; it’s just common sense."

He condemned Democrats for being on the wrong side of this issue, charging they want noncitizens meddling in Arizona's elections. Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, hailed the ruling in a post on social media.

"This is a victory for election integrity in Arizona," he wrote. "Only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in our elections."

He called on Congress to enact laws that would require documentary proof of citizenship.

House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Glendale, said he was proud to join Petersen in defending the 2022 laws, which include the proof of citizenship requirement in Thursday's court ruling.

The two laws were almost immediately appealed. Civil rights and Latino groups, led by Mi Familia Vota, did not immediately return calls inquiring about their next legal step.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona proof of citizenship law: Court partially lifts injunction