Arkansas Secretary of State joins Supreme Court brief on voter citizenship verification

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester has joined nine other secretaries of state in filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting states' authority to require proof of citizenship for voter registration. The group filed an amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief in Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota , a case involving a dispute over Arizona's voter registration requirements and the extent to which federal law allows states to require proof of citizenship from prospective voters. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the case. Jester and the other secretaries argue that the National Voter Registration Act does not prevent states from requesting information necessary to determine whether someone is eligible to vote, including information used to verify U.S. citizenship. In a statement, Jester said he believes states should be able to require proof of citizenship as part of the voter registration process. 'I fully believe requiring proof of American Citizenship to register to vote is just common sense,' Jester said. 'Right now, bad federal case law is stopping that basic safeguard from happening. This case is our best chance in a generation to fix it.' Opponents of those requirements have argued that some state citizenship documentation requirements conflict with the National Voter Registration Act and can create barriers for eligible voters who do not have the required documents. The Supreme Court's eventual decision could affect how much authority states have to require and verify citizenship information during the voter registration process. The court has not yet issued a decision in the case. Page 2