NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — A federal appeals court in Denver is suggesting that a partisan impasse in Congress may prevent Kansas and Arizona from getting federal elections officials to help them impose proof-of-citizenship requirements on voter registration forms.
The three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted that Congress has not confirmed commissioners to sit on the Elections Assistance Commission. That body’s staff refused to include Kansas and Arizona’s instructions on its voter registration form, triggering a federal lawsuit.
The appellate judges said that only commissioners may be able to make that decision, meaning Kansas and Arizona could not get changes made until Congress acts.
A trial court judge forced the commission staff to make a decision and then overruled it, finding the federal government had to accept the states’ instructions.
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DENVER (AP) — A federal appeals court in Denver is considering whether Kansas and Arizona can force federal elections officials to help them impose their proof-of-citizenship requirements on voter registration forms.
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on Monday in the case. It hinges on whether the federal government or the states have the ultimate authority to regulate voter registration.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission appealed an order from a federal judge to modify a federal form to include special instructions requiring Kansas and Arizona residents to provide citizenship documentation.
More than a dozen voting-rights groups have either joined the lawsuit or filed friend-of-the-court briefs. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers have urged the appeals court to throw out the judge’s ruling.