A federal appeals court has ruled that Kansas and Arizona residents can register to vote using a federal form without providing proof of citizenship.
Most residents in the two states register using a separate state form requiring them to show a birth certificate, a U.S. passport or naturalization papers.
Kansas and Arizona had asked the U.S. government to also impose that same requirement on voters who register using the simpler federal form, which only requires a sworn statement.
But the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found Friday that the states have no authority to demand the federal government apply the citizenship proof requirements to the federal form.
The ruling effectively gives potential voters a simpler way to register without providing citizenship documentation in order to vote in federal races.
