U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett broke from her fellow conservative justices about whether to hand Republicans a victory in a key voting rights case out of Arizona on Thursday.
The court issued an order related to a case raised by the Republican National Committee asking the justices to block a lower-court order that blocked enforcement of a 2022 law that would bar registered voters who have not previously provided proof of citizenship from voting in presidential elections, or by mail in any federal elections.
Arizona, which is viewed as a swing state in the 2024 presidential race, is home to a key Senate race and two battleground congressional races. It was viewed as Republican-leaning for much of the 2000s and 2010s but has drifted toward Democrats recently, with President Joe Biden narrowly carrying the state in 2020.
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Ultimately, in a 5-4 vote, the court granted part of the stay filed by the RNC while rejecting other parts. It will allow Arizona election officials to reject new voter registration forms that do not include proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or a passport.
But it rejected part of the request that sought to block Arizonans already registered to vote but have not provided proof of citizenship from voting in federal elections or by mail.
Had the court granted that part of the request, it could have blocked tens of thousands of Arizonans from voting in the upcoming presidential election.
Presently, Arizonans must have proof of citizenship to vote in statewide elections. However, proof of citizenship is not required to vote in federal races, including the presidential and congressional elections. The challenge stems from a 2022 law passed in Arizona requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, but that law has not been enforced.
A majority of justices agreed to partially grant the request. But Barrett, a conservative appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, along with the bench’s three liberal justices, supported completely rejecting the request, according to the order.
“Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, Justice Barrett, and Justice Jackson would deny the application in full,” the order reads.
Newsweek reached out to the Supreme Court for comment via email.
Barrett at times has been viewed as a more moderate voice among the court’s conservatives. For instance, she disagreed with the other Republican-appointed justices on aspects of Trump’s immunity case.
She voted to grant him immunity for official acts but said she disagreed with one part of the ruling that held the Constitution prevents protected conduct from being introduced as evidence in a criminal prosecution against a former president.
In June, she sided with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states, writing that they lack standing to sue administration officials over social media platforms’ content moderation decisions regarding COVID-19 misinformation.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded to the Supreme Court’s decision in a statement released Thursday.
“Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Arizona’s law requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration is reinstated,” the statement reads. “Counties will reject new state forms missing documented proof of citizenship. Voters may still register using the National Mail Voter Registration Form, which requires an attestation of citizenship under penalty of perjury.
“My concern is that changes to the process should not occur this close to an election, it creates confusion for voters. We respect the Court’s decision and will implement these changes while continuing to protect voter access and make a voting simple process.”
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley celebrated the decision in a statement.
“This is a major victory for election integrity that upholds a simple principle: American elections must be decided by American citizens,” the statement said. “While Democrats have worked to undermine basic election safeguards and make it easier for non-citizens to vote, we have fought tooth and nail to preserve citizenship requirements, see the law enforced, and secure our elections. The Supreme Court has sided with the RNC, and the American people, to protect the vote in November.”