U.S. Attorney General disagrees with Napolitano on Voter I.D. at Polls

Opinion Letter from DOJ concludes Brewer's Prop. 200 bill does not violate federal laws

PHOENIX -- Secretary of State Jan Brewer today received official word from the U.S. Department of Justice that her efforts to implement Proposition 200 provisions requiring proper identification at the polls, does not violate federal law. This opinion directly contradicts Governor Napolitano's veto message on April 1 which incorrectly concluded that S.B. 1118 “conflicts with federal law.”

The letter from Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sheldon T. Bradshaw of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, states: “it is our considered judgment that neither HAVA nor any other provision of federal law preempts states from imposing identification requirements at the polls, including identification requirements for the receipt of provisional ballots.” The Civil Rights Division is specifically charged with enforcing and interpreting Title III of the Help America Vote Act, which includes the provisional ballot requirements.

Bradshaw's letter to Brewer also noted that, “if a State such as Arizona wishes to impose identification requirements that are stricter than HAVA, it may do so without violating the statute.”

Stated Secretary of State Jan Brewer, “I told the Governor that this bill was not in violation of federal law, yet instead of working towards implementing the will of over 1 million voters, she chose to play legal games.” “I was extremely disappointed that the Governor based her veto on her interpretation of HAVA and I'll remind her that the job of enforcing these laws lies directly with the U.S. Department of Justice, and they have spoken,” added Brewer.

As noted by the Department of Justice, all elections -- including federal elections -- are left up to the States to administer. In Arizona, the voters passed by Initiative Proposition 200 to insure the security and integrity of our elections and combat voter fraud. Today's opinion letter confirms that SB 1118 was proper and in compliance with federal laws and regulations.

Brewer went on to state, “it is our job as election administrators to implement the wishes of the voters without delay, yet the Governor's veto of SB 1118 has set back the timely implementation of Proposition 200, and done so based on an incorrect interpretation of federal law.” Brewer said, “I call on the Governor and State Legislature to immediately and proactively pass new legislation, identical to SB 1118, so that there can be no further delay in implementing the ID provision of Proposition 200 as passed by voters last November.” 

View DOJ opinion letter on Prop 200

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