US Supreme Court Expected to Clear Path for States to Adopt their own SAVE Act Legislation
Arizona has been working to stop noncitizens from voting in our elections for over 20 years. After years of litigation, we are near the final step in proving our model works. That’s why last month we filed a brief asking the US Supreme Court to overturn the 9th Circuit’s radical decision blocking our proof of citizenship laws from going into effect, and it should be an easy decision for them.
The Supreme Court told us in 2013 that we could require proof of citizenship on our own state voter registration form. They said it again in 2024, just weeks before the election. And yet, the 9th Circuit, in defiance of the Supreme Court, determined that essentially every aspect of the laws is unconstitutional, and that they were passed with “discriminatory intent.”
While we continue to wait on Congress to pass the SAVE Act, Arizona’s model is one every state can and must adopt immediately. When the Supreme Court takes the case, every obstacle will be removed for them.
The Problem
Our organization crafted this reform because over the course of a decade and a half our original proof of citizenship requirements had been whittled away. We were the first state in the country to require proof of citizenship with Prop 200 in 2004. The US Supreme Court in 2013 decided we could not require proof of citizenship when someone registers using the Federal Voter Registration Form. And in 2018, one elected official entered into a consent decree with activist liberal groups agreeing to do the same to the state form. After that, the number of people voting in our elections without having provided proof of citizenship skyrocketed from 1,700 to 11,600, in a year, 2020, in which the difference between Biden and Trump was only 10,457 votes.
The Arizona SAVE Act
HB2492 was and is the answer to that problem.
It reapplies the proof of citizenship requirement to state voter registration forms – the forms that the vast majority of voters use.
It requires an investigation of databases before registering someone with the Federal Form to determine whether they are citizens or not.
It prohibits Federal Only Voters – those who registered without proof of citizenship – from voting by mail, so they would have to appear in person and show valid voter ID before casting a ballot. And it limits them to voting only for the US House and US Senate and not for presidential electors.
Lawfare to Block the Arizona Model
Dozens of liberal groups sued within hours, and those requirements have been stuck in litigation since.
The Federal District Court decided that basically every provision was unconstitutional, but that they were not passed with discriminatory intent.
The 9th Circuit, after a chaotic process (one panel reversed parts of the district court’s ruling, only to be reversed by another panel days later) largely agreed with the District Court. But they went one step further: they resurrected the discriminatory intent claim that even the District Court had rejected.
Their evidence? A single article we published titled “How More Illegals Started Voting in AZ Elections and How House Bill 2492 Is Going to Fix It.” According to the 9th Circuit, the word “illegals” is coded racist language — and on that basis alone, they struck down the entire law as racially motivated. This is exactly the kind of judicial overreach the Supreme Court must correct.
The Arizona Model Impacts the Whole Country
We are not alone. Last month, the Attorneys General of 25 other states also filed an amicus brief supporting Arizona’s laws. That means a majority of states — 26 in total — stand united in arguing that states have the constitutional authority to protect their elections from noncitizens registering and voting.
This issue has been in and out of the courts now for two decades. It’s a matter of national importance, and the Supreme Court has the opportunity to provide the definitive answer, ensuring states can enact common sense election integrity laws.
Every State Should Pass Their Own SAVE Act
But it isn’t only the Supreme Court that can act. Much of the country is waiting on Congress to pass the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. This is long overdue, but states should not fold their hands and wait.
Every one of the 25 states who signed onto a brief in support of our laws has the ability to pass their own version of HB 2492, their own SAVE Act, right now. Arizona led the way. Wyoming became the second state to follow. Several others have bills moving through their legislatures.
Arizona’s model is proven. It is grounded in Supreme Court precedent. And once the Court takes this case and confirms that each provision is constitutional, the green light to act will shine even bigger and brighter. The question is not whether states have this power — the Supreme Court has already said they do, and they will again once they take this case. The question is whether every state will take action to protect their elections.
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