The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a Republican challenge to Arizona voter registration laws, marking a major test of the National Voter Registration Act, the federal law that has protected voter access for three decades.
The justices will consider whether Arizona can require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and whether the state can systematically cancel voter registrations based on citizenship status. The Republican National Committee (RNC) petitioned the Court to overturn a February 2025 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that found the two 2022 Arizona laws violated the NVRA.
The case, Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota, centers on the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly known as the “motor voter” law. The NVRA requires states to “accept and use” a federal voter registration form and prohibits states from systematically removing voters from registration rolls during the 90 days before elections. Since the mid-1990s, the law has significantly expanded access to the voter rolls and made it harder for states to purge voters close to elections when they have no recourse to challenge mistakes, according to Democracy Docket.
Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature passed the two laws in 2022, aiming to address what officials said was noncitizen voting. One law requires applicants using the state voter registration form to show documentary proof of citizenship. The other allows county officials to cancel voter registrations if they receive information showing the registrant was ineligible. Data indicates that voting by noncitizens is rare.
The Supreme Court previously ruled on Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship requirement in 2013. In Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, the Court found that the NVRA prevents states from requiring documentary proof of citizenship with federal voter registration forms. Arizona responded by allowing applicants without proof to register as “federal-only” voters, but the state prevented them from voting in presidential elections or by mail. The 2022 Arizona laws attempted to expand and strengthen these restrictions.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the key provisions of both laws in February 2025, ruling that they violated the NVRA. The court called the statutes “unlawful measures of voter suppression.” The RNC then appealed to the Supreme Court, and the justices granted the petition on Monday, according to PBS NewsHour.
The Trump administration initially opposed the laws but reversed course after President Donald Trump took office. In May 2026, the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief supporting the RNC’s petition. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon called it a “very important case” on social media, arguing that “clean voter rolls are essential to election integrity and voter confidence.”
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this fall and is expected to issue a ruling after the midterm elections, according to Democracy Docket. The Court’s decision could significantly weaken the NVRA, a law that has made it easier for Americans to register to vote at motor vehicle departments and other government agencies for over three decades. If the justices rule for the GOP, they could make the landmark voting law far less effective—not long after they gutted another crucial federal protection, the Voting Rights Act, earlier this year.
Sources
- Democracy Docket — Details on the case, the NVRA’s 30-year history, the 9th Circuit’s ruling, and the expected timeline for Supreme Court decision
- PBS NewsHour — Confirmation of Supreme Court’s Monday announcement and background on the 2022 Arizona laws
- NBC News — Confirmation that the Supreme Court will weigh Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship voting law and details on the NVRA requirements
- The Hill — Details on the NVRA’s quiet period and the lower court’s rulings
- U.S. News & World Report — Information on the 2022 Arizona laws and the RNC’s role
