Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed a 24-state amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in support of election integrity in Arizona. This action comes in response to the case *Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota*, where federal courts have temporarily blocked an Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship for voter registration in state and presidential elections.
The brief, led by Kansas and West Virginia, with Alabama and 22 other states joining, defends the Arizona law, arguing that the National Voter Registration Act allows states to verify voter citizenship without being preempted by federal law. The emergency application has been filed to stay the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, which enjoined the law ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
In the case, the Republican National Committee and Arizona legislators intervened after the state’s Attorney General declined to defend the law for the upcoming election cycle. Attorney General Marshall stated that the case highlighted concerns over immigration policies and their potential impact on election integrity, expressing the need for legislation like the SAVE Act to ensure that voting remains limited to U.S. citizens.
The amicus brief emphasizes the risks posed by noncitizen voting, whether legal or illegal, arguing that even small groups of noncitizen voters can influence election outcomes. It maintains that safeguarding the right to vote for eligible citizens is central to the democratic process and necessary to uphold representative government.
This brief continues the ongoing debate over state versus federal control of election laws and citizenship requirements for voter registration, with the Supreme Court’s decision likely to have significant implications for election practices nationwide.
