The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is applauding the Supreme Court ruling overturning Proposition 200, the state’s voter registration law, reports Washington Bangla Radio.
AALDEF along with 12 other Asian American civil rights groups filed an amicus brief earlier this year saying the law put an unfair burden on naturalized citizens.
“(The) decision is a victory for voting rights,” said Margaret Fung, executive director of AALDEF. “This decision affirms that all eligible citizens, either naturalized or native-born, must have full and equal access to the electoral process.”
Almost 40 percent of Asian Americans in Arizona are naturalized citizen. AALDEF argued Proposition 200 put an unfair burden on Asian Americans.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Proposition 200 violated the National Voter Registration Act by imposing requirements on the state level not required on the federal level.
The ruling puts into doubt laws in other states, namely Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee, and Georgia.