On Wednesday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R-Ariz.) signed an election integrity bill which aims to crack down on illegal aliens voting in American elections.
As reported by CNN, the state of Arizona already has laws in place to prevent illegal aliens from voting in state elections, requiring proof of citizenship in order to do so. But the new legislation, H.B. 2492, extends those requirements to participation in federal elections as well. With Governor Ducey’s signature, the new law overrides a previous law which did not require proof of citizenship, but instead simply asked potential voters to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they were citizens prior to casting a vote in federal elections.
Under the new law, voters who submit a federal registration form without proof of citizenship must be vetted by state election officials; any official who fails to verify the citizenship status of a potential illegal alien could face felony charges.
“H.B. 2492 provides clarity to Arizona law on how officials process federal form voter registration applications that lack evidence of citizenship,” Ducey said upon signing the bill.
But far-left organizations are already planning to challenge the law in court. Pinny Sheoran, the new president-elect of Arizona’s League of Women Voters, said that the group is “exploring that option, [and] joining with other groups” to file a lawsuit.
Arizona’s original election integrity law dealing with state elections and proof of citizenship, Proposition 200, was first passed by the voters in 2004. But the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the state could not impose the proof of citizenship requirement on potential voters who only wanted to vote in federal elections.
However, the bill’s sponsor, State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Ariz.), declared that “HB2492 is an incredibly well-crafted piece of legislation that is on sound legal footing and broadly supported by voters of all political parties.”
“I am confident that should Democrats challenge HB2492 in court it will only serve to further reinforce its clear constitutionality,” he added.
The new law will go into effect 90 days after the end of the current Arizona legislative session, which concludes on April 19th, thus meaning that the proof of citizenship requirements will be in place during the state’s primary elections on August 2nd, and the subsequent general elections in November.