Republicans are cautiously optimistic about election reform in Arizona after a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court mandates that officials verify voters’ proof of citizenship during the voter registration process.
Previously, all Arizona residents could complete a state registration form, and those who did not provide citizenship documents were automatically registered to vote in federal elections only.
Under the new ruling, residents must now provide documentation proving their citizenship when filling out a state registration form.
Unfortunately, in the same ruling on Thursday, the court upheld that Arizona must continue to accept federal voter registration forms, which do not require residents to show any proof of citizenship.
Although this ruling initially seemed like a victory, it fails to address the issue that potentially illegal voters can still circumvent the requirement by using a federal registration form instead of a state one.
Nevertheless, some Arizona Republican officials celebrated the partial victory on X. State Representative Ben Toma was among those who took an early victory lap. This led to a wave of fundraising efforts.
“Great news—the 9th Circuit stayed the district court’s injunction of Arizona’s common sense voting law, ARS 16-121.01(c). All county recorders must now require proof of citizenship when accepting state voter registration forms. I was proud to join Senator Petersen in defending this law and election integrity.” Rep. Ben Toma said on the social media platform, X.
According to Capitol Media Services, even Rep. Ben Toma eventually acknowledged the ruling was a limited victory, but told reporters “It’s still a win”.
The reality is that this ruling is merely a band-aid on a bullet wound. It does nothing to address the underlying issue, which continues to raise concerns about the potential for illegal votes being cast in the 2024 presidential election.
However, Toma, along with Senate President Warren Petersen, are pursuing an appeal against the decision that permits a loophole in Arizona’s voter laws, with a hearing scheduled for September.
If the ruling is not overturned, over 35,000 Arizona residents who registered using the federal form will be eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
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