War On Citizenship
Posted 07:10 PM ET


Rights: A U.S. Court of Appeals has invalidated an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in state and federal elections. Not only our borders but our voting booths are wide open.

Many of us have witnessed the pride of new U.S. citizens raising their right hand before a judge after learning about our government and Constitution and swearing allegiance to their new country and its laws. On Tuesday, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided by 2-1 to tell others who would like to earn their citizenship — don't bother.

The uber-liberal 9th Circuit decided that you don't have to be a U.S. citizen to vote in our elections, or even be required to prove you are. It struck down Proposition 200, a measure passed by Arizona voters in 2004 requiring individuals to produce proof of citizenship, such as a passport, to register to vote, and a picture ID such as a driver's license, or two pieces of nonphoto ID, in order to cast a ballot.

The law was designed to keep illegal aliens from voting in our elections, which we think they should not be entitled to do. Some 30,000 noncitizens were prevented from registering to vote in the first four years of the law. Georgia is the only other state with a citizenship mandate requirement so it too may face a court challenge.

A joint statement by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Secretary of State Ken Bennett, both Republicans, called the ruling "an outrage and a slap in the face to all Arizonans who care about the integrity of their elections."

The 9th Circuit upheld the voting day requirement for identification as a not insurmountable burden for the poor and minorities to overcome, but those are easier to come by and easier to fake. Eight of the 19 9/11 terrorists had sufficient identification to have registered to vote in Virginia and Florida while planning their attacks.

Many jurisdictions now accept Mexico's "Matricula Consular" and other foreign-issued documents as legal ID. But for someone whose very presence may be illegal, providing a false ID while lying to a registrar is not a deterrent.

In recent years, we have tried to make it easier and easier to vote in an effort to increase voter turnout. In addition to the traditional absentee ballots, originally intended for people with real excuses, we have motor voter, same-day voting and voting by mail, all opportunities for fraud and corruption.

In recent elections, including this one, we have reaped what we have sewn, with groups like Acorn flooding the system with fraudulent registrations, felons voting and people going to the polls to vote for one candidate only to find the computer screen has already cast a ballot for the other or to find someone has already cast a ballot, absentee or otherwise, in their name.

You don't need proof of citizenship to participate in ObamaCare, or to enroll your child in many state colleges and universities at in-state rates, or to receive many of the public services our nanny state provides. If your mother can sneak past the border patrol before you're born, poof, you're a citizen. If you're here illegally and commit a crime, police can't ask if you are one.

Voting should be hard. It should require you to show up physically on Election Day and prove you are who you say you are. It's a solemn civic duty that is the bedrock of our democracy. The sanctity of the ballot box and the integrity of our electoral process is threatened by those who think voting is just another form of entitlement.

Requiring proof of citizenship when registering should be a no-brainer. Do we really want untold numbers of noncitizens deciding our elections? Voting-rights activists say: Citizenship? We don't need no stinking citizenship, not even to vote.

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