Jefferson Reporter

Washington, D.C. – On June 23, Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06) reintroduced the Citizen Ballot Protection Act to promote election security. Following introduction of his bill to allow states to require proof of citizenship for voters by amending the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06) issued the following statement:

“Restoring faith in the ability to conduct free and fair elections in this country begins with cleaning up voter rolls and requiring proof of citizenship to prevent illegally cast ballots from swaying elections.” said Rep. Gary Palmer. “I introduced the Citizen Ballot Protection Act because Americans deserve to know their elections are secure. It is common sense that states should be able to require proof of citizenship to ensure only citizens are voting in their elections. Unfortunately, a 2013 Supreme Court ruling prevents states from requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. This bill will fix the problem by amending the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to give states the ability to verify the citizenship status of their voters when they register.”

Cosponsors of the Citizen Ballot Protection Act include Rep. Chuck Edwards (NC-11), Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (GA-9), Rep. Randy K. Webber (TX-14), Rep. Clay Higgins (LA-3), Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-3), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (TX-2), Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12), and Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-5).

Background:

Although the U.S. Constitution gives states the responsibility of overseeing federal elections, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (also known as the “NVRA” or “motor voter law”) sets forth certain voter registration requirements for federal elections. Section 6 of the NVRA requires states to accept and use the U.S. Election Assistance Commission federal mail voter registration application form. It also permits states to create and use their own mail-based form as long as the form meets certain requirements.

Section 9(b) of NVRA lists the requirements for information collected by the federal election voter registration forms. The contents of mail voter registration form:

May require information that:

• Identifies the applicant, including their signature
• Relates to a previous registration
• Helps state election officials assess the eligibility of the applicant

Shall include a statement that:

• Lists each eligibility requirements, including citizenship
• Confirms the applicant meets each requirement
• Requires the signature of the applicant, under penalty of perjury

May not include any requirement for notarization or other formal authentication.

State modifications to the federal mail voter registration form are reviewed by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC and courts have begun interpreting the prohibition of notarized or other formal authentications as justification for denying states the ability to require documentary proof of citizenship with the federal mail voter registration form. Some examples include:

• The Supreme Court issued a ruling in 2013 that Arizona could not require docu­ment­ary proof of citizen­ship on the federal regis­tra­tion form without EAC approval.
• In 2021 the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that a previous 2016 EAC approval for Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas to include proof of citizenship violated the Administrative Procedures Act.
• The 10th Circuit issued a ruling in 2014 upholding EAC’s original rejection of Arizona and Kansas’ request that the federal form include documentary proof of citizenship.

Solution

The Citizenship Ballot Protection Act establishes the option for states to add a proof of citizenship requirement to their mail voter registration form. The impact of this:

• Respects and upholds the role of states to administer federal elections.
• Gives states the option to add more security to their voter registration process.
•  Helps states that have proof of citizenship requirements, such as Arizona, to streamline their registration process so both their version of the federal mail voter registration form and the state’s regular voter registration form can have the same review process.

Original source can be found here.