PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Last week, federal Judge Susan R. Bolton ruled on a challenge to HB 2492 and HB 2243, which were passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Doug Ducey in 2022. In her opinion, Judge Bolton highlighted the work of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club in helping to draft and lobby for these critical protections that ensure only eligible voters are registered and voting in our elections.
According to Judge Bolton, the State of Arizona “may not reject State form registrations that lack an individual’s state or country of birth, may not conduct SAVE checks on any registered voter whom county recorders have reason to believe are a non-citizen, [and] may not reject State form registrations that are not accompanied by documentary proof of residence.”
“Though Arizonans can take solace in the fact that an activist judge didn’t completely dismantle these reasonable and commonsense laws, we are extremely disappointed in her decision to strike down several lawful provisions that we expect will be upheld on appeal,” said Scot Mussi, President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. “Officials across all branches and jurisdictions of our government should be working to uphold the integrity of our laws and to ensure that the votes of American citizens are not canceled or compromised by even a single illegal vote.”
In her ruling, Judge Bolton wrote that her Court weighed the Free Enterprise Club’s role in authoring the law and our “coded appeals as some evidence of community animus.” Those “coded appeals,” per Judge Bolton, were the “disseminat[ion] [of] lobbying materials by email to Arizona legislators that described how the Voting Laws would prevent ‘illegals’ from voting in Arizona elections.” The opinion explained that “the use of ‘code words’ may demonstrate discriminatory intent, and the term ‘illegals’ can evince racial animus for members of the Latino community in Arizona.”
Mussi added, “It is outrageous that Judge Bolton would use an official court opinion to falsely accuse concerned and law-abiding American citizens of having racist intent in our efforts to pass legislation to strengthen election integrity in this state. This accusation is especially laughable when we consider the state of the open border, where millions of men, women, and children from more than 160 countries of origin have illegally crossed into America – many of whom are taking up residence and receiving benefits on the backs of hardworking taxpayers. It shouldn’t take a grassroots advocacy organization to point out the constitutional responsibility of a federal court, yet sadly, this is the present state of our nation.”
We expect the Legislature and other Defendants to quickly appeal this ruling, and we look forward to filing briefs in support.
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