Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wants the U.S. Supreme Court to restore the States’ constitutional authority to set and enforce voter qualifications.
Marshall has filed a 26-State brief to the court arguing the National Voter Registration Act permits States to use their own voter-registration forms to require proof of citizenship to register, that a consent decree cannot prevent the Legislature from legislating, and that the NVRA allows States to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls whenever they find them there.
“The United States Constitution is clear that the States set and enforce voter qualifications for all elections, including federal elections,” Marshall said.
“Repeatedly courts have misinterpreted the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, better known as Motor Voter, to stand as a barrier to States exercising this constitutional authority. Just two years ago, Alabama’s own Secretary of State was sued under a misinterpretation of the law at issue. Thus, it is frustrating, but not surprising, to see that this summer a Canadian national and a Mexican national pled guilty in federal court in Alabama to voting in the 2024 General Election.”
The brief was sent to help in the Republican National Committee (RNC) v. Mi Familia Vota case, where oral arguments are scheduled to take place in December. The case comes after federal district court blocked parts of Arizona’s 2022 voting laws that required voter-registration applicants to produce “satisfactory evidence” of U.S. citizenship when registering with a state registration form. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that block in February 2025.
“This case presents yet another attack by activist groups on a State’s efforts to enforce citizenship as a requirement to vote,” the brief states.
Attorney General Marshall co-led the amicus brief with Kansas. Also joining were attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
“When noncitizens vote, they dilute the voices of qualified citizens and undermine our democracy,” Marshall continued. “And, because most States use one voter roll for federal and State elections, any federal barrier to keeping noncitizens off the roll impacts State and local elections too. The Supreme Court has an opportunity to restore the States’ ability to set and enforce voter qualifications, as an inherent function of their own sovereignty and as a means thoroughly considered by our founders to best ensure that federally elected officials are truly representative of the people.”
President Donald Trump has been calling on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote nationwide. Alabama’s Republican Congressional delegation has been supportive of the bill, but it has failed to move forward in the U.S. Senate.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
