Join us for a conversation with Secretaries of State Adrian Fontes of Arizona and David Scanlan of New Hampshire. Moderated by Votebeat Arizona reporter Jen Fifield, you’ll learn about the practical realities of requiring documented proof of citizenship for elections.
Currently, there is no federal requirement to show proof of citizenship in order to vote. Instead, voters across the country must attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury.
President Donald Trump's executive order on elections included a requirement for proof of citizenship. In Congress, the SAVE Act has a similar requirement and has passed the House. Three states have passed a proof of citizenship requirement in recent years, and several others are considering legislation.
As the United States appears to be moving closer to requiring some form of citizenship proof in order to vote, this conversation will dive into the practical reality of administering elections with this requirement in place.
Arizona has had a documented proof of citizenship requirement for state and local elections for twenty years, and officials determined in 2024 that state systems didn’t properly record the citizenship status of around 200,000 voters.
This year, New Hampshire held its first election with a documented proof of citizenship requirement. Because it’s one of the six states that are not subject to the National Voter Registration Act, the law prevents anyone without documented proof of citizenship from voting in federal elections as well as state and local ones.
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