In 2022, Arizona’s state legislature passed a bill that was signed into law, HB 2492, that was drafted to improve the election security within the state by improving the voter registration process. This was, in part, a reaction to the years of court decisions that slowly chipped away at the 2004 Arizona Proposition 200 that would require any American citizen provide proof of citizenship before being allowed to register to vote.

House Bill 2492 was supposed to re-enforce that requirement for any and all Arizona citizens to be required to be able to prove proper legal citizenship status before being able to participate in any elections conducted within the state of Arizona. The bill was also fairly moderate in allowing citizens to vote even in cases where it wasn’t entirely sure if their verification of citizenship was positive. Seems fair and like common sense, yes?

Well, not according to the federal courts. Earlier this year in March, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona ruled that the law was unconstitutional on the basis that it violated federal law that is supposed to prevent election officials from “rejecting voting materials” on any basis that is “not material” to qualifications to vote.

The prosecutors in the lawsuit attacking the law said that the bill violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as a number of other federal election statutes. “Arizona passed legislation in 2022 that violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other federal safeguards,” a U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino argued against the law.

The Republicans in the state were hoping for the law to be effective by the 2024 election, but these contests concerning the constitutionality of the law have kept that from being the case. There’s still a big play in the pocket of the Republicans in Arizona, though. That is to make an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court Justices for the law to be, at least in part, enforced for this election cycle.

According to reports, lawyers for the Republican National Committee have filed an emergency request with the U.S. Supreme Court so that the state’s executive branch can be allowed to enforce sections of the 2022 law. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan will have sole jurisdiction over this matter as the Justice acting on any emergency filings brought to the High Court.

“The district court’s injunction is an unprecedented abrogation of the Arizona Legislature’s sovereign authority to determine the qualifications of voters and structure participation in its elections,” the RNC said in their court filing. State legislators signed on to the filing as well.

Justice Kagan has asked for opponents of the law to submit documentation on the matter for her consideration ahead of an August 16th deadline.

“The Arizona Legislature enacted the relevant statutes more than two years ago. But the Ninth Circuit order stopped state officials from enforcing the law. Since the Ninth Circuit erroneously enjoined a valid state election statute, this Court ‘should correct that error,’” the filing adds.

While it’s unlikely any groundbreaking national ruling takes place anytime soon, this has the potential to bring to the surface mounting concerns about the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that imposed restrictions on states from being able to regulate voter registration and proof of citizenship matters.

The current Supreme Court Justices have shown a willingness to reconsider previous rulings that are vulnerable to closer legal scrutiny, as has been the case in the effective overturning of Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs case and the recent overturning of the Chevron precedence.

Arizona Critical For Both Political Parties This November

This case is interesting because Arizona is in an interesting position in terms of how the chips fall this November in the election process. Donald Trump has been leading in the polls in Arizona for months now, and he certainly wants to keep it that way. With a win in Arizona, the path to victory for Kamala Harris and the Democrats is much more difficult.

Without Arizona, she’d effectively have to sweep Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania without Arizona’s eleven electoral votes. The odds of that are increasingly low with each of those states proving to be toss ups at best for Kamala Harris at this time when she’s enjoying a “honeymoon” period.

Regardless of political affiliation and background, a ton of Americans all over the country believe that the election process could stand to be more rigid in nature and more scientific in execution. Simply put, the vast majority of Americans have no problem with more strict voting registrations requiring proof of citizenship because it’s common sense.

Do you think the U.S. Supreme Court should reinstate parts of the Arizona proof-of-citizenship law to be enforced for this upcoming election? As always, let us know what the people think in the comments below.