In the Supreme Court of the United StatesIn the Supreme Court of the United StatesIn the Supreme Court of the United StatesIn the Supreme Court of the United StatesIn the Supreme Court of the United States
KRIS W. KOBACH, Kansas Secretary of State;MICHELE REAGAN, Arizona Secretary of State;STATE OF KANSAS; STATE OF ARIZONA,
Petitioners
v.UNITED STATES ELECTION ASSISTANCECOMMISSION,
et al
.,
Respondents
.
On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
Becker Gallagher
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Cincinnati, OH
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Washington, D.C.
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800.890.5001
N
O
.
Kris W. Kobach
Secretary of State
Counsel of Record
Kansas Secretary of State’s Office120 S.W. 10th AvenueTopeka, Kansas 66612(785) 296-4564kris.kobach@sos.ks.govMark Brnovich
Attorney General
John R. Lopez IV
Solicitor General
Paula S. Bickett
Chief Counsel
,
Civil Appeals
Arizona Attorney General’s Office1275 West Washington StreetPhoenix, Arizona 85007(602) 542-3333Jeffrey A. Chanay
Chief Deputy Attorney General
Dwight Carswell
Assistant Solicitor General
Kansas Attorney General’s Office120 S.W. 10th Ave., 2nd FloorTopeka, KS 66612(785) 296-2215
Counsel for Petitioners
i
QUESTIONS PRESENTED
The court of appeals held that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (“EAC”) did not abuse itsdiscretion in denying Arizona’s and Kansas’s requeststhat the EAC modify the federal mail voter registrationform (“Federal Form”) to include their state lawrequirements that registration applicants provideevidence of citizenship in the state-specific instructionsthat accompany the Federal Form. The questionspresented are the following:1.Whether Article I, Section 2, and the Seventeenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution require theEAC to defer to the States’ determination thatprovision of documentary evidence of citizenship isnecessary to enforce the States’ voter qualifications.2.Whether Article I, Section 2, and the Seventeenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution permit a dual voter rolls system in which some voters who arequalified to vote for federal office holders are notalso qualified to vote for those “in the mostnumerous branch of the state legislature.”
ii
PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDINGS
Petitioners are the State of Kansas, the State of Arizona, the Kansas Secretary of State Kris W. Kobach,and the Arizona Secretary of State,
1
and were theplaintiffs-appellees in the court below. Respondents,the United States Election Assistance Commission andthe acting Executive Director and Chief OperatingOfficer of the United States Election AssistanceCommission Alice Miller, were defendants-appellantsin the court below. Respondents, Inter Tribal Councilof Arizona, Inc.; Arizona Advocacy Network; League of United Latin American Citizens Arizona; SteveGallardo; Project Vote, Inc.; League of Women Votersof the United States; League of Women Voters of Arizona; League of Women Voters of Kansas; Valle delSol; Southwest Voter Registration Education Project;Common Cause; Chicanos por La Causa, Inc.; DebraLopez, were defendant intervenors-appellants in thecourt below.
1
Michele Reagan is the current Arizona Secretary of State and issubstituted for Ken Bennett, the former Arizona Secretary of State, under Supreme Court Rule 35.3.
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