The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) submitted an amicus curiae brief in May supporting Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14248 addressing election wrongdoing, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.”
U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who was appointed to her position by President Bill Clinton, has already temporarily blocked part of the order requiring documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register to vote.
The AZGOP’s brief responded specifically to the proof-of-citizenship provisions in the executive order (EO). Arizona is the only state that requires DPOC to vote in state and local elections.
AZGOP Chair Gina Swoboda, who leads the Voter Reference Foundation, stated in a press release, “The American people expect secure elections, not open invitations to fraud. Arizona has led the nation with proof-of-citizenship laws for two decades, and we stand firmly behind President Trump’s efforts to protect the ballot. This is about safeguarding every legal vote — and stopping those who want to dilute it.”
The press release continued, “Arizona has a long-standing record of requiring proof of citizenship on its state voter registration forms and is uniquely positioned to highlight the constitutionality and effectiveness of such requirements.”
Several activist groups, including some led by progressive attorney Marc Elias, along with 19 Democratic-led states, including Arizona, filed lawsuits against the order, which was issued on March 25, arguing that it infringed on states’ constitutional authority to regulate elections and imposed restrictions that could disenfranchise voters. The plaintiffs were typical Democratic organizations that often sue Republican administrations, including the Democratic National Committee, Common Cause, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the League of Women Voters.
The AZGOP brief argued that Trump has the authority to issue the EO under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Authored by election attorney Thomas Basile, it said the NVRA “certainly permits the EAC [Electoral Assistance Commission] to require documentary proof of citizenship as a prerequisite to registering to vote in federal elections.”
Secondly, the AZGOP argued that a second part of the EO, directing federal agencies to “assess citizenship prior to providing a Federal voter registration form to enrollees of public assistance programs” is consistent with congressional intent to “confin[e] the franchise to United States citizens and prohibiting the registration of non-citizens.”
The brief pointed to “two decades of litigation emanating out of Arizona’s seminal documentary proof of citizenship law,” which established precedent for requiring DPOC.
The brief concluded, “A rigid reading of the NVRA that requires registration agencies to blindly offer registration applications to noncitizens, especially when agency officials will frequently have information at their disposal that indicate a would-be applicant’s non-citizenship status, is at odds with numerous federal laws that prohibit non-citizen registration, protect non-citizens from being solicited to register to vote, and place those who offer registration applications to known non-citizens in potential legal jeopardy. It would also be inconsistent with Congress’ stated purpose of registering only ‘citizens’ to vote and protecting election integrity.”
Previously, Democrats have taken the opposite stance here, recommending sweeping federal reforms of election law. Democratic officials supported HR 1, a 2021 bill in Congress that would federalize elections, and President Joe Biden issued an EO during his tenure directing federal agencies to find ways to facilitate voter registration and voter education.
President Bill Clinton signed an EO in 1994 that assisted with the implementation of the National Voter Registration Act. President Barack Obama signed an EO establishing the Presidential Commission of Election Administration (PCEA) — the title specifically stated the president would administer elections. The order was extremely broad, listing 11 types of election activity for the commission to address.
The lawsuits were consolidated under Kollar-Kotelly, who ordered on April 3 that the cases proceed together. She previously ruled against the Trump administration this year, halting DOGE from accessing Treasury Department payment systems.
Kollar-Kotelly sentenced January 6 protester Jesus Rivera, a former Marine, to six months in prison, warning about the dangers to democracy. She found Dominic Box, another J6 protester, guilty on six charges, but Trump pardoned him before she could sentence him. She attacked Trump for pardoning the January 6 defendants. “Dismissal of charges, pardons after convictions, and commutations of sentences will not change the truth of what happened on January 6, 2021,” she said in an order regarding the pardoning of Box.
In 2017, she blocked the enforcement of Trump’s ban on transgenders from serving in the military. In 2016, she ruled in favor of D.C. law enforcement’s discretion to deny concealed carry permits for firearms. In 2009, she ruled in favor of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, blocking a rule that would have permitted visitors to national parks to carry concealed weapons. She sentenced Lauren Handy to 57 months in prison for impeding access to an abortion clinic. She issued rulings against President George W. Bush and his Vice President Dick Cheney.
Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-07) sponsored H.R. 2499, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” earlier this year to codify EO 14248 into law.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to .
Photo “People Voting” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
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