The U.S.\u00a0\u00a0Supreme Court\u00a0partially granted Republicans\u2019 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\u2019s GOP legislative leadership to stay a lower court ruling that had blocked the law\u2019s enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a0The Federalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201cfederal-only voters,\u201d limiting their ballots to federal elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0SCOTUS\u00a0order allows the DPOC requirement for state voter registration forms to be enforced for the 2024 election. However, the high court did not grant Republicans\u2019 request to stay the lower court\u2019s ruling that blocked the DPOC requirements for voting in presidential contests and for mail-in ballots. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch would have granted Republicans\u2019 request for stay \u201cin full,\u201d according to the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Per the\u00a0AZ Free News, more than 11,600 individuals voted via \u201cfederal-only\u201d ballots during the Grand Canyon State\u2019s 2020 election. That\u2019s larger than Joe Biden\u2019s\u00a0margin of victory (10,457 votes) over Donald Trump. RNC Chair Michael Whatley\u00a0wrote\u00a0on X: \u201cHuge 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 \u2014 more to come!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Biden-Harris Department of Justice, along with Arizona\u2019s Democratic attorney general and secretary of state, filed motions urging SCOTUS to reject the Republicans\u2019 request. Arguing on behalf of the administration, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar baselessly claimed that \u201cjudicial 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunshine is a state-contracted group home for foster children, funded by taxpayer dollars to care for some of the state\u2019s most vulnerable. Last week, The Arizona Republic reported that Sunshine had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to both Hobbs\u2019 inaugural fund and the Arizona Democratic Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also last week, Mayes announced her criminal investigation into an alleged \u201cpay for play\u201d scheme, following a report by The Republic. She also sent letters to Mitchell\u2019s office and the state\u2019s auditor general, requesting that they suspend their own investigations into the matter. Mayes argued that these additional probes would be inappropriate and could \u201cjeopardize the integrity\u201d of her office\u2019s 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to be clear: This is not an accusation against you or the many fine employees in your office,\u201d Mitchell\u2019s letter read, in part. \u201cWe 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\u2019s distrust but also to their belief that nothing can change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n