Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters of
the U.S., calls the Supreme Court’s decision in the case Arizona v.
ITCA Inc. “a strong decision protecting voters.”
“The decision is a strong endorsement of Congress’ power under the
Elections Clause. In this case, Arizona overstepped by imposing
restrictions on the voter registration process,” said
MacNamara.
“State restrictions lost: Voters won today,” said MacNamara.
“Arizona wrongfully rejected thousands of voter registration
applications,” said MacNamara. “The Court ruled that this was
inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).”
“The Court’s ITCA decision safeguards the voter registration
process from political manipulation and will help block attempts in
the states to restrict the right to vote,” MacNamara said.
“In its decision, the Court also recognized the importance of
interstate voter registration drives like those conducted by the
League of Women Voters.”
Arizona v. ITCA is a critically important voting rights case that
examines whether the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)
prevents states from passing laws that restrict the voter
registration process. In this case, the League of Women Voters of
the U.S. submitted an amicus brief and the League of Women Voters
of Arizona was a named plaintiff.
“The NVRA was intended to and has succeeded in bringing millions
more citizens into the democratic process since its passage in
1993,” said MacNamara.
“Restrictions on the use of the national voter registration
application form like those tried by Arizona make it much more
difficult to register eligible citizens to vote,” MacNamara said.
“Independent registration drives by citizen groups like the League
are often the only effective means for some voters to get
registered and participate in our great democracy.”
“The Court’s ITCA decision safeguards the voter registration
process from political manipulation and will help block attempts in
the states to restrict the right to vote,” MacNamara said.
“This is a victory for voters plain and simple but we will need to
continue to fight against limitations on the voter registration
process.” concluded MacNamara. “This is an extremely important
ruling that says the U.S. Congress has the power and authority to
protect our right to vote.”