The Republican National Committee, the Arizona GOP, and state party chair Gina Swoboda filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the constitutionality of an Arizona law that allows certain U.S. citizens who have never lived in the country to vote in the state.
The case, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court against the state of Arizona and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, targets a provision of state law that permits individuals with a U.S. citizen parent registered to vote in Arizona to register and cast ballots using a federal write-in early ballot—even if they have never resided in the U.S.
Plaintiffs argue that the law violates Article VII, Section 2(A) of the Arizona Constitution, which they say requires actual residence in the state to qualify as an elector. “Residency is not inherited and cannot be established by proxy,” the suit contends, adding that individuals who have never made Arizona their home do not meet the constitutional residency requirement.
The lawsuit also alleges that allowing nonresident voters—who plaintiffs claim are disproportionately non-Republican—illegally distorts the electoral environment and dilutes the votes of constitutionally eligible Arizona residents. The contested provision, first added to Arizona law in 2005, was designed to comply with the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which governs voting rights for military personnel and certain American civilians living abroad.
Plaintiffs are asking the court to strike down the law and issue an injunction preventing the state from processing voter registrations or mail ballot requests from individuals who have never lived in Arizona. They are also seeking a court order requiring Arizona’s voter instruction materials to clarify that such individuals are not eligible to vote in federal or state elections in Arizona.
