Arizona Citizenship Requirements Challenge (AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition)

Lawsuit filed on behalf of the Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity Coalition (AZ AANHPI for Equity Coalition) against Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D), Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) and county recorders challenging two voter suppression laws, House Bill 2492 and House Bill 2243. H.B. 2492 requires Arizonans using federal registration forms to provide documents proving their citizenship and requires election officials to provide the Arizona attorney general with a list of voters who do not provide satisfactory proof of citizenship for investigation. H.B. 2243 requires county recorders to cancel a voter’s registration if they receive information that a voter is not qualified to vote or if the county officials have a “reason to believe” that a voter is not a U.S. citizen. The plaintiffs argue that, in total, these laws unduly burden the right to vote in violation of the First and 14th Amendments, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by treating voters differently depending on which type of form they use to register, discriminate against national origin in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, violate the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment by failing to provide voters a notice and opportunity to contest or cure lack of citizenship information or misinformation, discriminate on the basis of race in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendment, violate the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act because birthplace is not material “to whether a registrant is qualified to vote” and violate the National Voter Registration Act by failing to comply with federally mandated registration procedures. The plaintiffs request that the challenged provisions of the laws be declared unconstitutional, prevent the enforcement of the laws and request that the court order that applicants who previously submitted forms but whose applications were rejected for failure to provide birthplace, proof of residency and documentary citizenship are added to the rolls. On Sept. 8, 2022, the court temporarily paused the enforcement of H.B. 2243 for the 2022 midterm elections.

This case was consolidated with Mi Familia Vota v. Hobbs, where all future filings can be found.

Last updated: March 29, 2024 5:04 pm EST