Texas Freshman Sen. Ted Cruz responded to the Supreme Court’s decision striking down an Arizona law requiring people to show proof of citizenship before registering to vote by announcing he will try to have that requirement included in the new immigration reform bill.
Cruz, a Republican, made his announcement on twitter Monday.
I’ll file amendment to immigration bill that permits states to require ID before registering voters & close this hole in fed statutory law.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 17, 2013
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the law violated the National Voter Registration Act, known as Motor Voter, which requires voters to attest but not prove they are citizens. The Arizona law was struck down primarily because federal law takes precedence over state law, but Cruz’s amendment, if it did become law, would change those circumstances.
Cruz’s proposal is a long list of amendments expected to be debated as the Senate considers immigration reform.
Cruz has been a supporter of voter ID requirements in his own state too, featuring a petition on his website that encouraging voters to tell President Obama “Don’t Mess with Texas Voter ID laws” and bragging about how he fought Texas Democrats “seeking to prevent the enforcement of the Texas voter fraud laws.” He also filed an amicus brief in support of Indiana’s voter ID law when it went before the Supreme Court.
Texas’s own voter ID law was blocked by the Justice Department under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, but a Supreme Court decision expected later this month could strike down that protection.
Cruz has been a vocal opponent of the immigration reform bill working it’s way through the Senate, even going so far as to explain his disdain for the legislation as a form of “Obamaphobia.”
Morgan Whitaker