Justice Department urges Supreme Court to keep parts of Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship voter law on hold

The Biden administration told the Supreme Court on Friday that parts of an Arizona proof-of-citizenship voter law should remain on hold for the coming election.

The Biden administration told the Supreme Court on Friday that parts of an Arizona proof-of-citizenship voter law should remain on hold for the coming election. The high court has been asked to intervene in a dispute over the election rules of the battleground state, with a case that hits on a political flashpoint of the 2024 campaign season. In a court filing, US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said 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 contention was backed by Arizona’s Democratic state officials who said in their own court filings that a court intervention at this time would be “destabilizing.” The Biden administration, as well as civil rights groups who have also sued over the 2022 law, argues that it runs afoul of the National Voter Registration Act by requiring that individuals using the federal registration form show documentary proof of citizenship in order to vote in the presidential election and to use mail balloting in the state. The Supreme Court was asked by the Republican National Committee and state GOP lawmakers last week to reinstate the requirement for the coming election, after a trial judge struck it down.