JURIST - Paper Chase: Arizona voter ID law barred by Ninth Circuit injunction

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] has granted an emergency injunction [order, PDF] suspending the application of Arizona's controversial voter ID law a month before the November 7 general election. The law, which Arizonans approved in 2004 [JURIST report] as Proposition 200 [PDF], requires voters to show a government-issued ID [AZ Sec. of State materials; JURIST news archive] at the polls. Last month, a federal district judge denied a petition for injunction [opinion, PDF; AP report], allowing the law to be applied to the primary election. The coalition bringing the petition, which included the League of Women Voters and the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund [advocacy websites], argued that the law caused an unconstitutional burden on minority, immigrant and elderly voters.

Last year, the Ninth Circuit refused to suspend application [JURIST report] of Proposition 200 when immigrant groups challenged its denial of certain public benefits to non-citizens. Arizona [JURIST news archive] has indicated that it will appeal Thursday's order. Reuters has more. The Arizona Republic has additional coverage.

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