Attorney General Ken Paxton and 23 Other States Ask SCOTUS to Allow Arizona Law Requiring Proof of Citizenship for Voting to Go Into Effect
August 18, 2024 – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a coalition of twenty-three other attorneys general to file an amicus brief in support of an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote, asking the Supreme Court of the United States for an emergency stay of a federal district court’s injunction against the law.
Arizona’s state constitution, like many other state constitutions, stipulates the commonsense requirement that only American citizens are qualified to vote in American elections. To ensure this requirement is met, Arizona passed a law that everyone registering to vote must provide documentary proof of United States citizenship. A Federal district court ruled that Arizona’s law was preempted by the federal National Voter Registration Act. Opponents to the Arizona law claim the NRVA does not permit proof of citizenship requirements by States. Attorney General Paxton urged the Supreme Court to issue an emergency stay of the district court’s ruling which intentionally misrepresents the NVRA and ignores that States have the sovereign right to regulate their elections.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has intentionally flooded our country with illegal aliens. Without proper safeguards, foreign nationals can and will illegally influence elections at the local, state, and national level,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The States have a constitutional right and responsibility to ensure that only legal votes from American citizens are counted. I hope the Supreme Court recognizes the urgency of this situation and moves to protect our national elections. Lawmakers in Texas must also make every effort to secure our elections and prevent noncitizens from voting. I urge them in the next legislative session to prioritize election integrity in Texas after millions of illegal aliens entered the state under the Biden-Harris Administration.”
The brief explains: “There is every reason to believe this problem of non-citizen voting has gotten worse, as the number of illegal immigrants in the United States has undeniably grown… Each of those illegal aliens represents another possible opening for voter fraud, for each represents a probability—no matter how small—that they will vote illegally.”
