Gonzalez v. Arizona, No. 08-17094

Challenge to Arizona Proposition 200

In Gonzalez v. Arizona, No. 08-17094, an action raising the questions whether Arizona Proposition 200 violated the Voting Rights Act, was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth or Twenty-fourth Amendments of the Constitution, or was void as inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the court affirmed judgment for defendants in part where Arizona's polling place photo identification requirement did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.  However, the court reversed in part where the NVRA superseded Proposition 200's voter registration procedures, and Arizona's documentary proof of citizenship requirement for registration was therefore invalid.

As the court wrote:  "Proposition 200 requires prospective voters in Arizona to present documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-152, 16-166, and requires registered voters to present proof of identification in order to cast a ballot at the polls, Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-159."

Related Resources

• Read the Ninth Circuit's Decision in Gonzalez v. Arizona, No. 08-17094