SCOTUS Ruling in Arizona Case Is Major Victory for Voting Access

The Supreme Court today ruled in support of voting rights, upholding congressional action that set a national standard for voter registration and rejecting Arizona’s effort to impose additional registration requirements that would keep tens of thousands of eligible citizens off the voter rolls, Common Cause said today.

“This is a major victory for American voters,” Jenny Flanagan, Common Cause’s director of voting and elections, said of the 7-2 decision in Arizona v. ITCA. “The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) establishes a reasonable, national standard for registration by mail. Arizona’s unnecessary demand that prospective voters produce documents providing evidence of citizenship beyond the NVRA’s requirements had blocked about 30,000 qualified Arizonans from registering.”

Common Cause, represented by MALDEF (The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), is part of a coalition of individuals and advocacy groups that filed suit against Arizona’s law.

“The NVRA has worked for 20 years to bring millions of citizens into the democratic process since its passage in 1993,” Flanagan said. The law works to streamline and encourage voter registration by requiring states to use a federal form which prospective registrants can fill out when obtaining or renewing their driver’s licenses or seeking social services.

“We hope that political leaders in Arizona and other states will see the wisdom of directing their energy toward expanding – not limiting – the right to vote,” she said. “But as we celebrate today’s victory, we and other voting rights advocates understand that this battle to protect voting rights isn’t over.”