This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the Supreme Court to uphold Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting.
The DOJ filed a brief in Republican National Committee, et al. v. Mi Familia Vota, et al. (case Nos. 25-1017, 25-1019, and 25-1022).
The case will determine whether the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) prohibits states from: removing noncitizens from voter rolls within 90 days of an election, requiring individuals to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections using the state registration form, and denying individuals the ability to vote by mail if they don’t provide documentary proof of citizenship.
These questions emerged from House Bills 2243 and 2492; both passed in 2022. Together, these bills require the secretary of state and county recorders to regularly review voter rolls, mandate registrants using the state registration form provide proof of citizenship, and prohibit vote by mail for federal-only voters.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the NVRA does preempt that legislation, impacting any similar citizenship proof measures taken by other states concerning their voting laws.
The federal court ruled the provisions in the Arizona laws amounted to unlawful voter suppression and were therefore unconstitutional. The court determined that voters must be allowed to vote federal ballots at least, even when they fail to provide proof of citizenship.
The respondents in the present litigation — Mi Familia Vota, Voto Latino, Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity Coalition, Democratic National Committee, and the Arizona Democratic Party — want to preempt Arizona and other states from imposing proof-of-citizenship limitations on voting.
Jesus Osete, principal deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in the DOJ announcement that the NVRA doesn’t prohibit states from removing noncitizens from voter rolls.
In its filing, the DOJ argued the lower court’s ruling conflicted with the NVRA since it would effectively render state forms into mere replicas of the federal form. States would lack the flexibility afforded by the NVRA, said the DOJ.
The DOJ filing argued that proof-of-citizenship requirements were harmonious with NVRA requirements to increase the number of eligible citizens registered to vote and ensure the maintenance of accurate and current voter rolls.
“When noncitizens with no right to shape American government vote in American elections, the ballot box no longer speaks for the People, because its tally no longer reflects their voice,” argued the DOJ.
Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) said he was “thrilled” by the Trump administration’s intervention.
“Only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections,” said Petersen. “Excited for SCOTUS to take up this important case.”
Thrilled the Trump DOJ is backing Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship requirements! Only U.S. citizens should vote in our elections. Excited for SCOTUS to take up this important case. https://t.co/xWBiciTxjV
The Supreme Court has already overruled the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on one of the issues in 2024. The Supreme Court allowed Arizona to enforce its proof-of-citizenship requirement for state voter registration forms, but refused to allow enforcement of the requirement for those registering with federal forms.
That follows the precedent set in 2013, when the Supreme Court ruled that the NVRA prohibited Arizona from requiring proof of citizenship of those voters registering to vote with the federal voter registration form.
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When people hear the phrase “left-wing political machine,” they probably think of local activist groups, paid protestors, and maybe even out-of-state wealthy progressive donors writing checks from afar. That mental model would be both outdated, oversimplified, and a major underestimation.
What operates in Arizona today is far more sophisticated and opaque. It’s best understood not as a movement (as the Left likes to brand themselves), but as a syndicate: multiple non-profits leveraging tax-deductible contributions to advance shared political goals through a permanent, year-round infrastructure.
Our newly released report, prepared in conjunction with the Arizona Liberty Network, examined the financial transactions between a consortium of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the Grand Canyon State, and illuminates just how far-reaching this system is…in Arizona, this liberal syndicate has its fingerprints on almost every lever of government.
A National Pipeline, Not a Local Movement
When examining the financing of the liberal syndicate, it’s important to note that virtually all of their funding comes from out of state sources. National, and in some cases multinational, donors and foundations are the primary sources of money. The NGO network also utilizes direct taxpayer subsidies through grants at the federal level.
Most of the individual donors and foundations bankrolling the syndicate provide their giving through a financial instrument known as a donor-advised fund (DAFs). A DAF lets wealthy progressives make tax-deductible contributions to a private fund, which then routs their donations to ideological nonprofits.
The other major trough of funding for the network comes from taxpayers in the form of government grants. The most notable federal agency providing these funds was USAID, which contributed over $50 million last cycle to progressive “philanthropic” organizations that then participate in political advocacy in Arizona.
From there, the money gets funneled through a web of intermediary organizations. Arabella Advisors (recently defunct and being replaced by Sunflower Services), Tides, and their affiliated funds dominate this space. These groups aggregate all that tax-advantaged and taxpayer-backed dollars, then redeploy them nationwide. Arizona is one of their preferred destinations.
Our report tracked more than 180 financial transactions, primarily from 2023 and 2024 alone. Altogether, the upstream sources pushed over $1.8 billion into the liberal NGO network, with nearly $200M ending up with organizations operating in Arizona.
So, this is no organic grassroots “movement.” It is a sophisticated syndicate: part tax-subsidized, part tax-advantaged, and built to operate year-round…
In 2022, the Arizona legislature passed—and then-Governor Ducey signed into law—a landmark election integrity bill: HB 2492. Authored by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, the law bolsters safeguards to our election process by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, ensuring that only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections.
It’s commonsense legislation that is popular with the public and a blueprint for other states looking to adopt nearly identical bills. And why wouldn’t it be? U.S. citizens cannot go into France, Australia, or any other country throughout the world and vote in their elections, so why should citizens from other countries be allowed to vote in our elections?
Yet immediately after HB 2492 was passed, a consortium of liberal organizations and the Biden Justice department sued to stop the law from going into effect. Now, after multiple trips to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, one of which included a bizarre ruling that required an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to let Arizona enforce our proof of citizenship requirements for the 2024 election (which we won), the entire law will now be going to the nation’s highest court.
We are confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the law in its entirety, but one issue about the litigation has been simmering beneath the surface: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a brief in support of Arizona’s law requiring proof of citizenship to vote. The intervention comes in Mi Familia Vota v. Warren Petersen, a lawsuit filed by leftist groups against two laws passed by the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature in 2022.
The laws require voters registering via the state form to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to participate in state and local elections. The DOJ’s brief backs Senate President Warren Petersen’s defense of the laws following a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that invalidated key provisions. The brief argues that Arizona’s birthplace attestation requirement “does not violate the Materiality Provision because it is generally important that an election official would consider important to the process of determining an applicant’s eligibility to vote.”
“We are thankful to again have a White House and Department of Justice committed to the rule of law and fair elections,” Petersen said in a statement. “The DOJ’s brief is appreciated in our fight to uphold a commonsense law and the will of the people. Given the clear precedent handed down from the U.S. Supreme Court, we are confident we will ultimately prevail. With the continued absence of our governor and attorney general, thankfully, the Arizona Legislature is again picking up the slack and is returning to our nation’s high court to defend election integrity.”
The case traces back to challenges by Mi Familia Vota and other groups, including some based outside Arizona, against House Bill 2492. The law bars enhances the legal guardrails of the Arizona voter registration process, ensuring that proof of citizenship is required to ensure only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections.
🚨FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: President Trump's DOJ Supports Arizona's Law Requiring Proof of Citizenship to Vote
In August 2024, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel vacated an emergency stay previously issued by another panel of the court. That decision permitted Arizona residents to register using the state form without proof of citizenship for federal races, such as U.S. president and Congress.
Petersen then sought emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed Arizona’s authority to reject incomplete registrations, marking the last binding order in the dispute until the Ninth Circuit’s latest deviation.
Eleven judges dissented from the Ninth Circuit’s most-recent majority opinion, saying, “Republican government serves as the keystone of the Constitution. In such a government, a majority of citizens who lawfully vote determines who represents us in the White House, Congress, and state legislatures. Courts must therefore defend the franchise—both by protecting the right of all citizens to vote, and by ensuring non-citizens do not vote. Arizona passed laws to protect the franchise… Sadly, the panel majority opinion undermines republican government, shreds federalism and the separation of powers, and imperils free and fair elections.”
The case now heads back to the U.S. Supreme Court for potential review, where Arizona will seek to enforce its citizenship verification requirements.
A federal court ruled on Thursday that those registering with the state of Arizona to vote must provide proof of citizenship. Otherwise, their application will be rejected.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its brief ruling in Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes. In it, the court granted a stay pending appeal for the injunction barring enforcement of A.R.S. § 16-121.01(C), the provision in statute requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration applications not produced by the U.S. election assistance commission — in other words, state-issued forms.
“The district court’s May 2, 2024 judgment is therefore stayed to the extent that it bars forcement of [the statute],” wrote the court.
However, two other provisions remain blocked under this most recent ruling and the one cited from the district court.
The previous ruling declared that the National Voter Registration Act preempts registration restrictions for presidential elections and voting by mail; the LULAC Consent Decree prohibits rejections of state registration forms on the basis of lack of documentary proof of citizenship as well as residence; the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act prohibits the state from implementing a checkbox asking a voter to affirm their citizenship status as well as the requirement to disclose place of birth; and the Civil Rights Act’s Different Standards, Practices, or Procedures Provision prohibits requiring county recorders to conduct citizenship checks using the USCIS SAVE system.
Senate President Warren Petersen said the ruling represented an election integrity victory.
“Only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in our elections. It sounds like common sense, but the radical left elected officials in our state continue to reject this notion, disrespecting the voices of our lawful Arizona voters,” said Warren. “We are grateful the court is upholding this provision in our law, and it’s time for Congress to take action to ensure only lawful U.S. citizens are voting in federal races.”
🚨BREAKING: Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of election integrity! Voters in Arizona who register with the state and do not provide proof of citizenship will be rejected.
"This is a victory for election integrity in Arizona. Only U.S. citizens should be… pic.twitter.com/IjNCv9lSmz
Lawyer Marc Elias for the activists challenging Arizona’s proof of citizenship requirements, however, argued that the ruling was a win for them since it denied key portions of the Republican motion. Elias dubbed proof of citizenship measures as “voter suppression.”
“9th Circuit (with 3 Trump appointees) denies key portions of Republican motion to stay trial court victory in Arizona voter suppression lawsuit,” said Elias.
🚨BREAKING: 9th Circuit (with 3 Trump appointees) DENIES key portions of Republican motion to stay trial court victory in Arizona voter suppression lawsuit. Congratulations to my firm's clients @MiFamiliaVota and @votolatino and the voters of Arizona.https://t.co/nsXzORvttq
In addition to progressive activist group Mi Familia Vota, other parties to the case include Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (appellee), Petersen (appellant), Kris Mayes (appellant), Promise Arizona and Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (appellant).
The courts are determining whether the Arizona Republican Party may enter the case as an intervenor.
The appeal for the case was scheduled for this September.
Earlier this week, election integrity groups coordinating under America First Legal issued letters to all of Arizona’s county recorders reminding them to purge the voter rolls of non-citizen voters.
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