Supreme Court strikes down Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote
By Pete Williams and Erin McClam, NBC News
The Supreme Court on Monday struck down an Arizona law that requires people to submit proof of citizenship when they register to vote.
The vote was 7-2, with Justice Antonin Scalia writing for the court.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two members of the court’s conservative wing, dissented.
Several states said that such a law reduces voter fraud, but civil rights groups said it was an effort to discourage voting by legal immigrants. The case was argued and decided at a time when the country is considering how to change its immigration laws.
Citizenship is a requirement to vote in any federal election, and the federal registration form requires people to state, under penalty of perjury, that they are American citizens. States can use their own forms, but they must be equivalent to the federal form.
more:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/17/19003391-supreme-court-strikes-down-arizona-law-requiring-proof-of-citizenship-to-vote?lite
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