Racist Voting Restrictions Become Law In Arizona

CounterPunch
June 7, 2005

Xenophobia in the Desert
Racist Fever Becomes Law in Arizona
By MARGOT VERANES and ADRIAN NAVARRO

Reacting to a barrage of anti-immigrant messaging and misinformation, Proposition 200 was approved by 56% of Arizona voters on November 2, 2004. Prop. 200 forces all Arizonans to present proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to receive basic public services and to register to vote. Arizona's Attorney General has limited its application to five public benefits programs, but Prop. 200's most far-reaching impact has been one of widespread fear and intimidation. Immigrants are afraid to access even programs to which they are entitled. The voter-registration component of Prop. 200 constitutes a modern-day poll tax that often keeps low-income people and communities of color from voting.

Voting Rights of U.S. Citizens Under Attack

Prop. 200 backers also made unfounded accusations that undocumented immigrants voted in Arizona. Their true aim was to suppress voting by people of color. They openly declared during a televised debate, "Too many Latinos are voting." The impact of Prop. 200 identification requirements on voter registration has been staggering--in Pima County, over a two-week period early this month, 423 of 712 voter registration forms were rejected, or 59% of new voters. Last year, when 6 times as many people were registering because of the presidential election, no voter registration forms were rejected.

Arizona is already red-flagged by the U.S. Justice Department (USDOJ) because of its history of widespread voter intimidation against people of color. Consequently, all changes to the state's voting laws must be approved by the federal government. Despite Prop. 200's blatant discriminatory intent, in January 2005 the USDOJ ruled that forcing people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote does not deter people of color from voting.

Arizona is now the first state in the U.S. to require that anyone registering to vote present a birth certificate, passport, or tribal identity card. In Arizona, approximately one-third of the Latino and African American populations live in poverty. Citizens who cannot afford to purchase a birth certificate ($15 in Arizona), or passport ($85) will be prohibited from registering to vote. Civil rights leaders say this is eerily reminiscent of racist poll taxes. Prop. 200 also wipes out clipboard voter registration drives because making copies of the required documents at a potential new voter's doorstep is practically impossible. A number of bills currently before the legislature seek to further restrict voting rights and are sponsored by the same anti-immigrant contingent of legislators.

http://www.counterpunch.org/veranes06072005.html

I don't think it's constitutional.