Supreme Court to hear Arizona proof-of-citizenship voting law in December

High court will weigh whether state can require federal voters to show citizenship documents and purge rolls close to an election

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published23 October 2026

Read Time3 min

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for early December in a case that could decide whether Arizona can require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and purge voter rolls of noncitizens within 90 days of an election. The case, brought by advocacy groups Mi Familia Vota and Living United for Change in Arizona, challenges two laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2022 that were blocked by lower courts as violations of the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act.

The Arizona laws, signed by then-Governor Doug Ducey, would ban new voters who do not provide proof of citizenship from registering for federal elections and would stop those currently registered as federal-only voters from voting by mail or in presidential contests. They also require extensive checks of voter rolls for noncitizens and allow purges within the 90 days before an election, a period during which the National Voter Registration Act prohibits such purges.

National Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2025 upheld a lower court ruling that the laws violate federal voting statutes and Supreme Court precedent. The lower court had blocked key portions of the laws from taking effect.

The state has argued the laws are necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections. Opponents counter that noncitizen voting is vanishingly rare, with studies showing it makes up approximately 0.0001% of all votes cast. The Bipartisan Policy Center, analyzing data from the Heritage Foundation, found only 77 instances of noncitizen voting between 1999 and 2023.

The case arrives alongside a separate legal battle in Maricopa County over the voter roll purge process. County Recorder Justin Heap used the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to flag 207 voters as likely noncitizens and moved 60 who had cast ballots to a “non eligible” category. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office found only eight of those 60 were actually noncitizens, and no more than three had voted in the same election. Twenty-five voters whose citizenship was later confirmed remain unable to vote in this year’s election, according to the lawsuit.

The Supreme Court last addressed Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship requirement in 2013, ruling that the state could not require it for federal elections because those are governed by the National Voter Registration Act. The 2022 laws were designed to extend the requirement despite that precedent.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The Supreme Court's decision could establish a nationwide precedent on whether states can impose proof-of-citizenship requirements for federal voter registration and purge rolls close to Election Day.
The case tests the limits of state election security efforts against federal protections in the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act.
The outcome could affect how millions of Americans register and vote in federal elections, especially in states considering similar laws.

Background

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 prohibits states from systematically removing voters from rolls within 90 days of a federal election. Arizona has required proof of citizenship to vote in state and local elections since 2004, but the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the state could not enforce that requirement for federal elections. The 2022 laws attempted to bypass that ruling by banning federal-only voter registrations and restricting the voting rights of those already on the federal-only list. The laws also explicitly authorized roll purges within the 90-day blackout period, directly challenging the federal statute.

Key Perspectives

State of Arizona and Republican supporters: argue the laws are necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections and to maintain the integrity of voter rolls, citing the use of the SAVE database to identify potential noncitizens. Challengers (Mi Familia Vota and Living United for Change in Arizona): contend the laws violate the National Voter Registration Act and the Civil Rights Act, disenfranchise eligible voters, and are based on unfounded claims of widespread noncitizen voting, which evidence shows is extremely rare.

What to Watch

The December oral arguments and any signals from the Supreme Court justices about how they view the conflict between state authority and federal election law.
The ongoing Maricopa County lawsuit over the purge of voters flagged by the SAVE database, as it may produce additional evidence about the accuracy of that tool.
Other states with similar proof-of-citizenship proposals, such as Texas and Florida, which may move forward or hold off depending on the Supreme Court's ruling.

Sources

Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship voting law heads to the Supreme Court in December · Arizona Mirror

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 9 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments for early December in the Arizona proof-of-citizenship case.Arizona Mirror: “The U.S. Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments for early December in a case that could decide whether Arizona can require proof of citizenship to register to vote and if it can purge voter rolls prior to an election.”
SupportedThe Court will weigh whether Arizona can require citizenship documents for federal voters and purge voter rolls close to an election.Arizona Mirror: “The U.S. Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments for early December in a case that could decide whether Arizona can require proof of citizenship to register to vote and if it can purge voter rolls prior to an election.”
SupportedMi Familia Vota and Living United for Change in Arizona challenged two 2022 laws that lower courts blocked as violations of federal voting statutes.Arizona Mirror: “Earlier this year , the high court agreed to hear the 2022 case in which Mi Familia Vota and Living United for Change in Arizona challenged two laws signed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey”
Partly supportedThe laws ban new voters without proof of citizenship from registering for federal elections and bar currently registered federal-only voters from voting by mail or in presidential contests.Arizona Mirror: “The 2022 laws banned new federal-only voter registrations and says that those currently on the federal-only list cannot vote by mail or cast a ballot in a presidential contest.”
SupportedThe laws allow purges of noncitizens within 90 days before an election, when federal law prohibits such purges.Arizona Mirror: “The laws also allow voter rolls to be purged of noncitizens within 90 days prior to an election. The National Voting Rights Act does not allow for purging of voter rolls within that 90-day time period.”
SupportedNational Republicans and the Justice Department petitioned the Supreme Court after the 9th Circuit upheld a lower-court ruling that the laws violate federal voting statutes and precedent.Arizona Mirror: “National Republicans and the U.S. Department of Justice petitioned SCOTUS to hear the case after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2025, agreeing with a lower court that the laws violate the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Civil Rights Act and run contrary to Supreme Court precedent.”
Not in the sourcesThe state has argued the laws are necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting in federal elections.Arizona Mirror
Partly supportedOpponents say noncitizen voting is vanishingly rare and accounts for approximately 0.0001% of votes cast.Arizona Mirror: “Noncitizen voting has been shown to be incredibly rare with it making up approximately 0.0001% of all votes cast .”
SupportedThe Bipartisan Policy Center found 77 instances of noncitizen voting between 1999 and 2023 in data from the Heritage Foundation.Arizona Mirror: “When the Bipartisan Policy Center analyzed data compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, it “found only 77 instances of noncitizens voting between 1999 and 2023””
SupportedMaricopa County Recorder Justin Heap used the SAVE database to flag 207 voters as likely noncitizens and moved 60 who had cast ballots to a “non eligible” category.Arizona Mirror: “Heap used the database and flagged 207 voters he said were likely noncitizens, sending those voters information to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office earlier this year. Of those 207 flagged, 60 had cast ballots and Heap moved those voters to the “non eligible” category, according to the lawsuit.”
SupportedThe Maricopa County Attorney’s Office found only eight of those 60 voters were noncitizens, and no more than three voted in the same election.Arizona Mirror: “a review of those 60 voters by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office found that only eight of them were actually noncitizens , and no more than three ever voted in the same election.”
SupportedTwenty-five voters whose citizenship was confirmed remain unable to vote in this year’s election, according to the lawsuit.Arizona Mirror: “Now, 25 of those 60 who had their voter registration canceled — but whose citizenship was verified by both MCAO and the AG’s Office — are unable to vote in this year’s election, according to the lawsuit.”