State of Arizona

Arizona Proof of Residency Requirement Challenge

Tohono O’odham Nation v. Brnovich

Lawsuit filed by the Tohono O’odham Nation and Gila River Indian Community against Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R), Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (R), the Pinal County recorder, the Pima County recorder and the Maricopa County recorder. The plaintiffs challenge Arizona House Bill 2492, which among other provisions, requires individuals registering to vote for federal elections to provide proof of residency at a physical address. The plaintiffs argue that, due “to the lack of addresses on reservation homes or to the unfamiliarity with Tribal addressing systems, many Arizona voters from Native American areas, including from Gila River and Tohono O’odham, register by drawing a map of the location of their residence and have done so without issue for years.” Additionally, voters in the Gila River Indian Community “typically do not have any documents that include both their name and an indicator of the physical location of their home sufficient to satisfy the Physical Address requirement under HB 2492.” Under H.B. 2492’s requirement that registrants provide documentary proof of residence, “people who live in housing that does not have a standard physical address will either be completely unable to register to vote, or will be unable to register to vote without overcoming the severe burden of both obtaining a standard street address for their home and having that address added to their identifying documents.” The plaintiffs argue that H.B. 2492 will result in “a significant majority of people living in Native areas of Pima County [being] unable to participate in the election of their county, state legislative, and congressional representatives” due to the documentary proof of residency requirement. The plaintiffs claim that H.B. 2492 violates the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which precludes states from “requiring Federal Form applicants to submit documentary proof of location of residence, as this is plainly not required by the Form itself.” Additionally, the plaintiffs allege that H.B. 2492 violates the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by placing undue burden on the right to vote. The plaintiffs request that the court find the documentary proof of residence requirement in H.B. 2492 in violation of the NVRA and First and 14th Amendments and ask the court to prevent the defendants from enforcing it. This case was consolidated with Mi Familia Vota v. Hobbs, where all future updates can be found.

Case Documents

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