Guest Post by Miriam Judith.
A contentious legal battle over election integrity in Arizona has intensified following a recent ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On August 1, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit overturned a prior decision that required proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. This ruling, which was decided in a narrow 2-1 vote, now allows individuals to register to vote using a state form, without having to provide citizenship documentation for federal positions such as President and Congress.
The law, enacted by Arizona’s Republican-led Legislature in 2022, was designed to prevent non-citizens from voting by mandating proof of citizenship if registering to vote with the state. The initial emergency stay, issued on July 18 by a different Ninth Circuit panel, had supported this requirement.
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision further dismantles the already fragile safeguards meant to protect our elections. Previously, while federal ballots could be exploited due to a lack of citizenship proof, there was at least some measure of security through state forms. Now, with both federal and state registration forms free from proof of citizenship, it’s even easier for noncitizens to cast ballots in federal elections. This ruling not only weakens Arizona’s attempts to ensure election integrity but also represents a troubling regression in our efforts to maintain genuine voter authenticity.
In other words, they didn’t even need this ruling to circumvent the previous ruling. This is akin to purely just rubbing it in. As Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen put it, this is ‘judicial warfare’ meant to circumvent the will of the American people. They plan to send the case to the Supreme Court for appeal.
“This is just another example of why the radical Ninth Circuit is the most overturned circuit in the nation,” said Senate President Warren Petersen. “They routinely engage in judicial warfare to carry out their extremist liberal agenda that’s contrary to the laws our citizens elected us to implement. We will seek assistance from the Supreme Court to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections. If this principle is not followed, democracy as we know it, and as our Founding Fathers intended, is in jeopardy.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Liberal Judges Block Arizona’s Proof of Citizenship Requirement to Vote, Arizona State Senate to Send Election Integrity Case to U.S. Supreme Court
Full Statement: https://t.co/mbNLkEzlfk pic.twitter.com/pFASNXnFyB
— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) August 2, 2024
The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision is a stark reminder of the ongoing decline in the integrity of our electoral system. By dismantling Arizona’s requirement for proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, this ruling further opens the floodgates for potential voter fraud and erodes the trust in the democratic process of voting even more (if that’s possible at its point). It’s clear that the system, rather than protecting electoral integrity, is now facilitating the very vulnerabilities it was meant to guard against.
Senate President Warren Petersen’s frustrations reflect a broader disillusionment with a judiciary that seems more interested in advancing a political agenda than upholding fundamental democratic principles. As the Supreme Court prepares to review this case, it’s hard not to see this as another example of a system that has become increasingly disconnected from the importance of fair and secure elections.
The erosion of these safeguards represents a worrying trend, casting a long shadow over the future of democracy and raising serious questions about whether genuine electoral integrity can ever be restored. Especially considering the millions of voters that have been imported under this lawless, anti-American regime.
