U.S. District Court of Arizona (Photo/LinkedIn)
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On Thursday, September 14, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Susan R. Bolton in Phoenix ruled in favor of the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community and Native youth against a voter suppression law requiring proof of a physical address.
Considering more than 40,000 homes on Indian reservations across Arizona do not have physical addresses, the decision is viewed as a victory for Native Americans in the state.
The order holds that the proof of address requirements in Arizona HB 2492 are preempted by the National Voter Registration Act.
Under Judge Bolton’s ruling, the bill’s address requirements must be liberally interpreted so that no one is required to have a standard street address in order to vote and so that numerous documents can be used to satisfy the requirement, including an Arizona-issued ID listing only a P.O. Box or any tribal identification document, regardless of whether it has an address.
“We applaud the Court’s ruling, which ensures citizens living in their tribal communities will not be disenfranchised because they don’t have an address. Native people in Arizona will continue to fight for their right to participate in democracy,” said Native American Rights Fund Staff Attorney Allison Neswood.
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