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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Appeals court orders removal of proof-of-citizenship voting requirements

Washington Post

A U.S. elections agency must remove a proof-of-citizenship requirement from a federal form used by people in Kansas, Alabama and Georgia to register to vote for November’s election, a federal appeals court panel in Washington ordered late Friday, reversing a lower court.

The 2-to-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came one day after civil rights groups in oral arguments said that the requirement could disenfranchise tens of thousands of U.S. citizens applying to vote in Kansas without required papers. Kansas is the only state enforcing the requirement to show documentation such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers instead of accepting signed and sworn affirmation of citizenship.

U.S. Circuit Judges Judith Rogers and Stephen Williams granted a preliminary injunction while a lawsuit by the League of Women Voters and other groups is pending, saying they had shown “irreparable harm” from the change. The court set aside a June 29 order by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon and returned the case to him.

The groups sued after what they called an unauthorized decision Jan. 29 by Brian Newby, executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to grant the three states’ requests to alter the federal form to incorporate state ID requirements.

Circuit Judge Raymond Randolph disagreed, quoting a 2013 Supreme Court decision that it would “raise serious constitutional doubts” if the commission prevented a state from “enforcing its voter qualifications.” The majority said the full commission could take up the states’ request, or they could challenge its denial or inaction later.