Nearly half of the nation’s state attorneys general have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of an emergency stay that would allow Arizona to require U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.
The Arizona Republican Party announced Thursday that it had filed an emergency petition “in support of HB 2492, a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote in presidential elections,” pending an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Arizona law requires proof of citizenship even if you vote by mail.
“The Constitution gives states the power to set voting qualifications, and Arizona is leading the way in ensuring only state residents can vote in elections,” the Arizona Republican Party tweeted. “This lawsuit has the potential to permanently block non-citizens from voting, as it should have always been.”
Illegal immigrants on voter rolls fuel watchdog lawsuit against Maricopa County
A voter drops off his ballot in front of the Orange County Board of Elections office in Santa Ana, California, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Photo by Paul Barsebach/Media News Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
The brief was supported by the attorneys general of 24 states, including the two that filed briefs, Kansas and West Virginia, as well as Texas, Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia.
The Dillon Law Firm filed a brief arguing that the Constitution does not support the district court’s decision and that it is lawful for states to require proof of citizenship in order to vote in elections.
FOX News Poll: New matchup, same result — Trump beats Harris by 1 point
“The Supreme Court should therefore immediately stay the district court’s injunction insofar as it interferes with Arizona’s constitutional authority to choose how to appoint its presidential electors,” the law firm’s lead attorney, Harmeet Dhillon, wrote.
The nonpartisan Honest Elections Project said states “have every right to require proof of citizenship to vote by mail. We believe the Supreme Court should allow Arizona’s law to go into effect and allow states to run their own elections securely,” the group said on its website.
A roll of “I Voted” stickers are stored at the Maricopa County Counting and Election Center (MCTEC) ahead of the 2024 Arizona primary and general elections in Phoenix, Arizona, June 3, 2024. Maricopa County election staff have been the target of repeated harassment and threats since the 2020 U.S. presidential election as online misinformation about voter fraud spreads. Authorities are stepping up security and offering public tours at the vote counting facility in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, in preparation for another wave of conspiracy theories in the 2024 presidential election. (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
The emergency injunction motion filed by the Republican National Committee argues that voter integrity is being left “in question,” especially with the large number of “illegal immigrants” in the country.
“The number of foreigners in the United States is undoubtedly growing, and there is every reason to believe that the problem of foreign voting is worsening. According to one study, there were more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States in 2019.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
“Each of these foreigners represents a potential source of voter fraud because each, however small, represents a chance of voting illegally. When you add to this other possible sources of non-citizen voting, such as foreigners who are here legally but cannot vote, or who have overstayed their visas, the magnitude of the problem becomes clear.”
