Only U.S. Citizens Vote In Arizona

While liberal courts and judges across the nation strike down laws created to prevent voter fraud, the Supreme Court has spoken on the issue by upholding an Arizona law that had been overwhelmingly approved by voters and challenged by “minority rights” groups.

The High Court’s unanimous decision comes on the heels of several lower court rulings against voter identification laws in various states, including Ohio, Georgia and Missouri. In an effort to weed out rampant voter fraud – including illegal immigrants casting ballots–many states have recently created legislation requiring citizens to present a valid ID at the polls.

The Arizona case involves an ordinance that was specifically written a few years ago to combat documented corruption among voters and that was approved by citizens in 2004. Proposition 200 requires voters to present proof of citizenship when they register to vote and identification when they go to the polls on Election Day.

A group of Indian tribes and various civil rights organizations challenged the law in court, arguing that poor and minority voters would be disenfranchised because acquiring identification would be burdensome in time, money and effort. Although a lower court rejected the suit, an appellate court later ruled against the ID law. Arizona’s attorney general vowed a Supreme Court appeal and the unanimous, six-page decision sends a strong message.

There is no coherent reason to refuse to check voter identification other than a desire to circumvent the law and let non-citizens determine the results of American elections, according to one blog called Big Lizards. At least we know that in Arizona voting is restricted to legal United States citizens, as it should be throughout the nation.