News Releases

The Supreme Court today vacated the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ enjoinment of Proposition 200, the Arizona law that requires certain forms of identification at the polls as well as proof of citizenship upon registering to vote. Various Arizona voter rights organizations say the law is disenfranchising across the lines of ethnicity, race, and age, but the Supreme Court ruled today that more evidence is required.

During a four-day window between the enjoinment of Prop 200 and the close of voter registration, thousands of voters registered. According to the Maricopa and Coconino county recorders, voters whose registrations were accepted during that window are still approved to vote in this election, assuming they are able to provide acceptable day-of forms of ID.  

The Arizona Student Vote Coalition contends that the law creates a significant voting barrier in that it makes voting considerably more difficult for out-of-state students and students without Arizona ID cards/drivers' licenses to participate in the political process. The Arizona Student Vote Coalition is a statewide effort of the Arizona Students' Association, Arizona PIRG, and student government associations across the state to increase student participation in the political process.

“While the recent Supreme Court decision on Proposition 200 will create challenges for students to participate in the upcoming elections, at least we had the brief window to register students to vote in Arizona without the burden of proving citizenship,” said Isaac Kimes, student coordinator for Arizona PIRG and senior at ASU.  “Since these registrations are still valid, we will work to ensure that these students are able to vote. We are not going to let this stop us from continuing our campaign to increase the number of students voting in this election.”

The Arizona Student Vote Coalition believes the largest barrier to student voting is the requirement to prove citizenship at the time of registration, although registration in Arizona for the November elections is now closed. Consequently, voter rights groups are turning their attention toward the identification requirements for Election Day.

Although many students without Arizona ID cards/drivers’ licenses are ill equipped to show proper forms of ID on Election Day, they are not without recourse this election. Early voting ballots are exempted from the ID restrictions based on the idea that registrars will have the time to compare registration signatures with ballot signatures. While that does not solve the problem of registration barriers in the future, it does provide a window for this election.

“Between now and Election Day, the Arizona Student Vote Coalition will make sure that students across the state are turning out to polls and that they are educated on the ID requirements.  We’ll do that by making sure that we have as many one-on-one conversations with students as possible, which research has shown improves the voter turnout rate. To have these conversations, we will use grassroots methods such as tabling, holding on-campus events, canvassing the dorms, and making phone calls,” stated Imran Kirkland, ASU West student and Arizona Student Vote Coalition Statewide Coordinator. “We also will work to get thousands of students across the state to request early ballots.”