Office of the Attorney General of the State of Alabama

08/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/16/2024 13:07

Attorney General Marshall Files 24-State Brief to Ensure Only American Citizens are Eligible to Vote in 2024 Election

For Immediate Release:
August 16, 2024

For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230

(Montgomery, Ala.) - Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed a 24-state brief before the U.S. Supreme Court defending election integrity in Arizona. In Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota, federal courts enjoined an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for anyone who registers to vote in state or presidential elections. The RNC and members of the Arizona legislature were forced to intervene when it became clear that Arizona's Attorney General would not defend the law's enforcement for this election cycle. The emergency applicants have asked the Supreme Court to stay the ruling of the Ninth Circuit.

"Yet again we deal with the impacts of disastrous immigration policies promoted by President Biden and his 'Border Czar' Kamala Harris. Just last week, we were forced to sue to stop them from offering Obamacare to illegal immigrants," Attorney General Steve Marshall said. "Now it appears that blue states want to register illegals to vote in the 2024 Presidential election. This case should also serve as a call to action for Congress to pass legislation, like the SAVE Act, to ensure that Americans alone decide who will govern them."

The amicus brief argues that the National Voter Registration Act permits states to verify that only citizens register to vote in presidential and state elections and that federal law does not preempt state sovereignty over its elections.

Many states, including Alabama, have adopted laws or regulations that would require voters show proof of citizenship to register to vote. But over the years, federal courts have chipped away at states' authority to secure their own elections.

"Voting by noncitizens, both legal and illegal, is real," the brief reads. And "even small voting blocs can have outsized effects on electoral outcomes." A state's interest in counting every legal vote must be protected and secured, for this is "the heart of representative government."

Attorney General Marshall joined the amicus brief led by Kansas and West Virginia. Also joining were attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

Click here to read the full brief.

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