Comments on Supreme Courts Arizona ruling
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON DC This amendment ensures that states can enforce the commonsense requirement that
those registered to vote must actually be U.S. citizens said U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) while filing his amendment
to S. 744 the Senate Immigration Reform Bill to close a loophole in the federal Motor Voter law that preempts states from enforcing requirements that would ensure those registered to vote are U.S. citizens.
The U.S. Supreme Court also ruled today in the Arizona v. Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona Inc. case deciding the federal Motor Voter law (the National Voter Registration Act of 1993) preempted Arizonas commonsense requirement that a person must present concrete evidence of citizenship before they are allowed to register to vote.
The right to vote is a fundamental building block of our nations democratic process and it crucial that we have the
measures in place to uphold the integrity of our elections said Sen. Cruz.
Senator David Vitter (R-LA) is a co-sponsor.
The Cruz-Vitter amendment states:
Nothing in subsection (a) 42 U.S.C. -§1973gg-4(a) shall be construed to preempt any State law requiring evidence of citizenship in order to complete any requirement to register to vote in elections for Federal office.
The measure amends an existing federal statute; it does not require states to adopt certain voting requirements respecting the interests of federalism.
Justice Alito said in his dissentI do not think that this is what Congress intended and I agree with him Cruz said of
the Supreme Courts Arizona v. Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona decision.
The Courts ruling leaves a hole in federal law that allows non-citizens to register by using the promulgated federal form without showing proof of citizenship.
This encourages voter fraud and we must ensure that our elections are fair and accurately reflect the will of our citizens Cruz said.
