Roadmap
2004
Arizona passes Proposition 200, which requires voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote or casting a ballot
Inter Tribal Council sues the state
District court denies preliminary injunction
2006
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit granted an emergency injunction to allow the case to proceed without allowing Proposition 200 to affect the 2006 election
The Court of Appeals held that the Proposition was constitutional and did not violate the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
2012
Petition to Supreme Court for writ of certiorari filed
Writ of certiorari granted
Precedent Cases
Foster v Love
In 1997, the Court debated whether Louisiana's open primary violated the federal statutes that establish a uniform federal election day. The court held that when Louisiana's open primary is applied to select among congressional candidates in October, it conflicts with federal law and to that extent is void. The Court rejected the argument that Louisiana's system only concerns the manner, not the time, of a federal election.
Ex Parte Siebold
In 1880, election judges from Baltimore who had been convicted in federal court and subsequently sentenced to prison for stuffing ballot boxes and related incidents of election fraud in a congressional election in Maryland, sought a writ of habeas corpus "to be relieved from imprisonment" on the grounds that Congress had no power to punish state officials for violating the laws of their own state. The court decided that Congress has the right to regulate federal elections, even if state laws also regulated the same elections, so the prison sentence stood and the writ of habeas corpus was denied.
2004
Arizona passes Proposition 200, which requires voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote or casting a ballot
Inter Tribal Council sues the state
District court denies preliminary injunction
2006
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit granted an emergency injunction to allow the case to proceed without allowing Proposition 200 to affect the 2006 election
The Court of Appeals held that the Proposition was constitutional and did not violate the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
2012
Petition to Supreme Court for writ of certiorari filed
Writ of certiorari granted
Precedent Cases
Foster v Love
In 1997, the Court debated whether Louisiana's open primary violated the federal statutes that establish a uniform federal election day. The court held that when Louisiana's open primary is applied to select among congressional candidates in October, it conflicts with federal law and to that extent is void. The Court rejected the argument that Louisiana's system only concerns the manner, not the time, of a federal election.
Ex Parte Siebold
In 1880, election judges from Baltimore who had been convicted in federal court and subsequently sentenced to prison for stuffing ballot boxes and related incidents of election fraud in a congressional election in Maryland, sought a writ of habeas corpus "to be relieved from imprisonment" on the grounds that Congress had no power to punish state officials for violating the laws of their own state. The court decided that Congress has the right to regulate federal elections, even if state laws also regulated the same elections, so the prison sentence stood and the writ of habeas corpus was denied.
