Change in National Voter Registration Form on Hold Pending
Appeal
WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Tenth Circuit issued a stay in Kris W. Kobach et al v. United States,
meaning that, while the Court considers the appeal, residents of Kansas and
Arizona applying to register to vote using the federal registration form will
not be required to provide proof of citizenship.
To help make voting more accessible to millions of
Americans, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) created a simple
federal voter registration form. The states of Kansas and Arizona are suing the
U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to add those states’ documentary
proof-of-citizenship requirements to the form’s state-specific instructions.
Voting rights advocates fear this change will disenfranchise
thousands of eligible citizens, as has already happened when Arizona and Kansas
began requiring proof of citizenship with their state registration forms.
In March 2014, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren ruled that
the EAC must fulfill the request from Kansas and Arizona. The EAC and a number
of civil rights groups—including Project Vote, the League of Women Voters,
Common Cause, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, and others—filed to appeal.
Earlier this month, Judge Melgren refused to stay his own
ruling pending appeal, but the U.S. Court of Appeals entered a temporary stay
on May 8. Now, the Court has issued a full stay, and granted the appellants’
request for an expedited review. This means that the federal form will remain
unchanged while the Court considers the appeal. (Read the Court’s order here.)
Project Vote is represented in the case by election counsel
Michelle Kanter Cohen, and the law firms of Arnold and Porter LLP and the
Thompson Law Firm LLC, which are providing their services pro bono.
“Kansas and Arizona want to remove the voter protections the
NVRA provides, and the result would be thousands of eligible citizens being
denied the right to vote,” said Kanter Cohen. “With a federal election fast
approaching, we are pleased that the federal form will continue to protect
eligible voters’ rights until this matter can be resolved.”
With the appeal moving forward on an expedited basis, the Court
has sought feedback from the parties on when the case should be argued and
decided.
###
Project Vote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3)
that works to empower, educate, and mobilize low-income, minority, youth, and
other marginalized and under-represented voters.
For more information and interviews, please contact Michael
McDunnah at 202-905-1397.