Biden DOJ Asks SCOTUS To Keep Arizona From Requiring Proof Of Citizenship For 2024 Election
The Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday requested the U.S. Supreme Court “deny” Republicans’ bid to enforce an Arizona law requiring individuals to prove they’re U.S. citizens when registering and voting in elections.
Arguing on behalf of the administration, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar requested that the nation’s highest court instead allow a lower court decision — one prohibiting the implementation of provisions of the statute in question — to remain in effect for the November election.
As The Federalist previously reported, the 2022 law mandated residents to show documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) when registering via state voter registration forms. The statute also required such proof for individuals submitting mail-in ballots and voting in presidential contests.
(In Arizona, individuals who do not provide DPOC when registering to vote are permitted to do so as “federal-only voters” and cast ballots in federal elections).
The Republican National Committee and Arizona’s GOP legislative leadership filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court on Aug. 8, asking the justices to place a stay on the lower 9th Circuit Court’s decision and allow the law’s DPOC requirements to take effect for the 2024 election. Nearly half the country’s state attorneys general and several conservative organizations have since filed amicus briefs with the high court requesting a stay be issued.
In the DOJ’s Friday filing, Prelogar claimed “applicants are not entitled to a stay” and encouraged the court to “deny” such a request. Specifically, she argued that “judicial intervention at this stage would undermine the orderly administration of the election, risking the disfranchisement of thousands of voters who have already registered to vote using the federal form.”
The Biden-Harris administration was among several left-wing parties to sue Arizona over the law shortly after its passage in 2022.
According to AZ Free News, more than 11,600 individuals voted via “federal-only” ballots during the Grand Canyon State’s 2020 election. That’s larger than Joe Biden’s margin of victory (10,457 votes) over Donald Trump.
The DOJ’s claims mirror those issued by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, who argued in her motion opposing applicants’ request that allowing the law to take effect would be “destabilizing.” Legal counsel representing Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, also a Democrat, similarly filed a motion asking SCOTUS to “deny” the emergency application.
[RELATED: Ballots Cast Without Proof Of Citizenship ‘Exploded’ After Lawfare Crippled Arizona Election Laws]
Justice Elena Kagan is the “circuit justice” tasked with handling emergency stay applications from western states. She can “grant or deny the application on her own, or she can refer it to the full court for all of the justices to vote on it,” according to SCOTUSblog.
The issuance of a stay would then require approval from at least five justices.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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