The Republican National Committee (RNC) requested on Monday that the Supreme Court block 41,000 registered voters from casting ballots in the November presidential election for failing to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
This new filing follows an emergency application submitted by the RNC on Aug. 8 in the case, *RNC v. Mi Familia Vota*, with the nonprofit Mi Familia Vota being one of the respondents. The request is currently pending before Justice Elena Kagan.
The case centers on Arizona laws, H.B. 2492 and H.B. 2243, passed by the state Legislature in 2022. These laws require voters registering in the state to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, and mandate county-level citizenship verifications to remove noncitizens from voter rolls. However, enforcement of these laws was halted by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in May, citing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and a prior state court order. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this decision in early August.
The RNC argues that federal rules should not override Arizona's legislative power to determine voter qualifications, stressing that the state has the sovereign right to manage its election processes. In their latest filing, the RNC also addressed concerns over the “Purcell Principle,” which advises courts against changing election rules too close to an election. The RNC claimed that their opponents' use of this principle was flawed, as it would unfairly require courts to assess the risk of confusion from either enforcing or not enforcing state election laws.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, in a brief submitted on Aug. 16, opposed the RNC's request, noting that with early voting starting in less than two months, it is too late for such changes. He warned that the requested policy shifts could significantly disrupt vote collection and processing.
The U.S. Department of Justice also urged the court to reject the RNC’s application. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar stated that the NVRA preempts Arizona’s laws and that the RNC was unlikely to succeed in the case, emphasizing federal law's supremacy over conflicting state regulations.
The Supreme Court has yet to announce a decision on the RNC's application.
