The U.S. Supreme Court partially granted Republicans’ request to implement an Arizona law requiring voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship for the 2024 election, a win for former President Donald Trump and Republicans in general who have been fighting for better ballot integrity since 2020. In a 5-4 decision last week, the high court partially approved an emergency request by the Republican National Committee and Arizona’s GOP legislative leadership to stay a lower court ruling that had blocked the law’s enforcement.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh formed the majority, while Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Amy Coney Barrett were in dissent, according to The Federalist.
As the outlet previously reported, the 2022 statute required residents to provide documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) when registering to vote using state registration forms. It also mandated DPOC for those submitting mail-in ballots and voting in presidential elections. In Arizona, individuals who do not provide DPOC when registering can still vote as “federal-only voters,” limiting their ballots to federal elections.
Thursday’s SCOTUS order allows the DPOC requirement for state voter registration forms to be enforced for the 2024 election. However, the high court did not grant Republicans’ request to stay the lower court’s ruling that blocked the DPOC requirements for voting in presidential contests and for mail-in ballots. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch would have granted Republicans’ request for stay “in full,” according to the order.
Per the 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. RNC Chair Michael Whatley wrote on X: “Huge win: the Supreme Court just ruled that the state of Arizona must REJECT state voter registration forms without proof of US citizenship. A seismic win in the fight to stop non-citizens from voting — more to come!”
The Biden-Harris Department of Justice, along with Arizona’s Democratic attorney general and secretary of state, filed motions urging SCOTUS to reject the Republicans’ request. Arguing on behalf of the administration, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar baselessly claimed 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.”
In June, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced her plan to launch an investigation into Sunshine Residential Homes and its purported connection with Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) and the Department of Child Safety (DCS). Mitchell conveyed her decision in a letter addressed to state Attorney General Kris Mayes, which was obtained by ABC15. It marks the second probe into the alleged connection.
Sunshine is a state-contracted group home for foster children, funded by taxpayer dollars to care for some of the state’s most vulnerable. Last week, The Arizona Republic reported that Sunshine had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to both Hobbs’ inaugural fund and the Arizona Democratic Party.
Also last week, Mayes announced her criminal investigation into an alleged “pay for play” scheme, following a report by The Republic. She also sent letters to Mitchell’s office and the state’s auditor general, requesting that they suspend their own investigations into the matter. Mayes argued that these additional probes would be inappropriate and could “jeopardize the integrity” of her office’s investigation. Mitchell replied on Tuesday in a letter to Mayes, emphasizing the need for transparency and stating that her office would prosecute the case if necessary, ABC15 reported.
“I want to be clear: This is not an accusation against you or the many fine employees in your office,” Mitchell’s letter read, in part. “We are in a time when people are increasingly distrustful of government. Your insistence on being the sole investigator in this matter will greatly contribute to people’s distrust but also to their belief that nothing can change.”
State Rep. David Livingston, R-28th District, has asked Mayes to recuse herself from the investigation due to concerns that she would not be able to properly investigate a member of her own party. Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, a Republican, requested Mitchell, also a fellow Republican, to conduct her own investigation to ensure objectivity, ABC15 added.
