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Arizona Republicans enact1 a controversial new proof-of-citizenship2 voting law
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday signed legislation to expand U.S. citizenship voting requirements in the state, a measure that critics warn will jeopardize4 the voter registrations6 of thousands of Arizona residents.
In signing House Bill 2492, Ducey disputed testimony7 from local officials and voting rights advocates who say an unknown number of voters — predominantly older, longtime Arizona residents — will be purged8 from the state's voter rolls because the last time they registered to vote, there was no requirement to provide proof of citizenship. Critics say those voters would then need to register again.
In 2004, Arizona voters approved a ballot9 measure to add proof of citizenship as a requirement for voter registration5. The measure included language that grandfathered in voters who were already registered prior to 2005, when the law took effect.
Marilyn Rodriguez, a lobbyist for the ACLU of Arizona, said HB 2492 supersedes10 the old law and would now apply the citizenship requirement retroactively.
"So many thousands of eligible11 voters could lose access to the polls based on specific and targeted criteria," she told the state Senate Government Committee earlier this month. "This bill singles out older voters, on average, and people who have lived in Arizona for a longer amount of time."
County election officials agree, and testified that they'll have to pore over voter registration databases to see who's affected12 by the change. They say they have no way of knowing exactly the number of impacted voters until they start looking.
One estimate put the tally13 as high as 192,000 voters. That's the number of Arizonans who were issued a state driver's license14 prior to 1996 — when the state updated its credentialing process to ensure a driver's lawful15 presence in the United States — and have not altered their license since, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
The timing16 of when the law takes effect — 90 days after the end of the legislative17 session — may create even more problems for election officials. Depending on when the session ends, the law could be in place before the state's August primary, or in between the primary and November general election — creating a situation in which voters who cast a ballot in August may no longer be eligible in November.
But in a letter explaining his decision to sign the legislation, Ducey argued the bill "does not disturb the safe harbor granted to Arizona voters" who registered before the state's citizenship requirement was adopted.
"Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote," Ducey wrote. "H.B. 2492 is a balanced approach that honors Arizona's history of making voting accessible without sacrificing security in our elections."
Questions of constitutionality
At its core, HB 2492 is a new attempt to apply citizenship standards to all voters in Arizona, including those who use a federal voter registration form prepared by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. That form requires voters to check a box declaring under penalty of perjury18 that they're U.S. citizens and eligible to vote — but it doesn't require documented proof of citizenship, like Arizona does.
The U.S. Supreme19 Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona couldn't impose a proof-of-citizenship requirement on voters who register with the federal form. The state has since created a bifurcated20 voting system that allows federally registered voters to cast ballots21 in federal elections, but not state or local races.
Republican lawmakers have bemoaned22 an increase in those federal-only voters — more than 11,600 cast a ballot in the 2020 general election, according to Ducey — and made several attempts over the years to restrict their access to the ballot.
The latest effort, signed by Ducey Wednesday, requires election officials to research the citizenship status of those federal-only voters. Under HB 2492, if elections officials can't find evidence that a federally registered voter is a U.S. citizen, that voter can't vote by mail, or cast a vote in presidential elections.
And if election officials find evidence a federally registered voter is not a citizen, the Arizona attorney general would be required to prosecute23.
Jen Marson, the executive director of the Arizona Association of Counties, told a Senate committee that HB 2492 puts county election workers in a "terrible position" — choosing to follow a state law that clearly violates a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, or uphold the court's ruling and be charged with felonies under Arizona law.
Even attorneys for the Republican-controlled Arizona legislature warn those measures are likely unconstitutional.
"It's a very clear decision," Marson testified about the Supreme Court ruling. "It's very emphatic24 and it absolutely nullifies the provisions of [House Bill] 2492. Counties cannot violate federal law."
The new law is expected to face legal challenges, and could perhaps face the scrutiny25 of a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court than in 2013.
The GOP-backed legislation follows a discredited26 partisan-led review of the 2020 election in Arizona's largest county, Maricopa. Last year, the state's Republicans enacted27 sweeping28 changes to Arizona's early voting process, and stripped some of the election authority from the Democratic secretary of state.
1 enact | |
vt.制定(法律);上演,扮演 | |
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2 citizenship | |
n.市民权,公民权,国民的义务(身份) | |
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3 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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4 jeopardize | |
vt.危及,损害 | |
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5 registration | |
n.登记,注册,挂号 | |
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6 registrations | |
n.登记( registration的名词复数 );登记项目;登记(或注册、挂号)人数;(管风琴)音栓配合(法) | |
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7 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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8 purged | |
清除(政敌等)( purge的过去式和过去分词 ); 涤除(罪恶等); 净化(心灵、风气等); 消除(错事等)的不良影响 | |
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9 ballot | |
n.(不记名)投票,投票总数,投票权;vi.投票 | |
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10 supersedes | |
取代,接替( supersede的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11 eligible | |
adj.有条件被选中的;(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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12 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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13 tally | |
n.计数器,记分,一致,测量;vt.计算,记录,使一致;vi.计算,记分,一致 | |
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14 license | |
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许 | |
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15 lawful | |
adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的 | |
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16 timing | |
n.时间安排,时间选择 | |
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17 legislative | |
n.立法机构,立法权;adj.立法的,有立法权的 | |
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18 perjury | |
n.伪证;伪证罪 | |
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19 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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20 bifurcated | |
a.分为两部分 | |
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21 ballots | |
n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 );选举;选票;投票总数v.(使)投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 ) | |
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22 bemoaned | |
v.为(某人或某事)抱怨( bemoan的过去式和过去分词 );悲悼;为…恸哭;哀叹 | |
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23 prosecute | |
vt.告发;进行;vi.告发,起诉,作检察官 | |
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24 emphatic | |
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 | |
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25 scrutiny | |
n.详细检查,仔细观察 | |
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26 discredited | |
不足信的,不名誉的 | |
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27 enacted | |
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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