You don't have to prove citizenship to vote in Arizona

[trillium13 84]

Sorry if this is a repeat, I didn't skim back too far.

Court voids Arizona law on voter proof of citizenship

A federal appeals court has struck down a key part of Arizona's law requiring voters to prove they are citizens before registering to vote or casting ballots.

Tuesday's decision by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the law requiring voters to prove their citizenship while registering is inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act. That federal law allows voters to fill out a mail-in card and swear they are citizens under penalty of perjury, but doesn't require them to show proof as Arizona's law does.

Appeals Court Judge Sandra S. Ikuta's opinion was joined by retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who heard the case as a temporary appeals court judge. The 9th Circuit's chief judge, Alex Kozinski, dissented.

Proposition 200 creates an additional state hurdle to registration, the judges said.

The law was challenged by voting rights and Hispanic advocacy groups.

The decision is a warning to anyone who seeks to deter or prevent voter participation that the Constitution will protect our democratic process, Thomas A. Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a San Antonio-based group that argued the case, said in a statement.

Mika Marquart, a spokeswoman for the Arizona attorney generals office, which represented the state, declined to comment immediately.

The case is Gonzalez v. Arizona, 08-17094, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (San Francisco).

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/10/26/20101026arizona-voiting-citizenship-law-ruling.html#ixzz13WGGPOKc

[Heracles 417]

"protect our democratic process", until it comes to the citizens of America voting for things that are not in their favor, like scrapping citizenship by birth or the police being able to check the status of someone detained for a crime.