The Supreme Court has struck down an Arizona law that required voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship before registering to vote.
In Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council, seven of the Supreme Court justices agreed that the Arizona law oversteps the state's authority by essentially invalidating the federal voter registration form. The form, established by a 1993 law, lets people register to vote by sending in a uniform form accepted by all states. Voters must swear they are citizens on the form, and all states are required to accept the form by law. in a 2004 ballot initiative, Arizona voters decided they wanted to go beyond that requirement, by asking for proof of citizenship--such as a birth certificate, passport, or tribal ID card--at the point of voter registration.
Critics of the law argued that the law stripped some voters of their ability to vote, since some advocacy groups estimate that about 13 million citizens do not have documentary proof of their citizenship. The law's supporters said it would guard against any attempts by non-citizens to vote in federal elections.
The opinion was written by Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the court's conservatives.?Justice Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, both part of the court's conservative wing, disagreed with the ruling.
Two years ago, the Supreme Court struck down several parts of Arizona's SB1070 law, which sought to give the state broader enforcement powers against unauthorized immigrants. The court argued that the federal government's immigration laws preempted the state's, and that Arizona was interfering with federal power. The court did let a key aspect of the law stand, however, giving local and state police the power to inquire into immigration status during routine stops.
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