Federal judge rejects requests to put voter citizenship ruling on hold News
Federal judge rejects requests to put voter citizenship ruling on hold

[JURIST] US District Judge Eric Melgren on Wednesday ruled that Kansas and Arizona voters will have to provide proof of US citizenship while registering to vote using the federal form, despite a pending appeal by a US agency of the federal judge’s ruling that aids in the enforcement of new voter registration requirements. Melgren rejected requests [AP report] from the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) [official website] and voting rights groups to put his March 19 ruling, which ordered the commission to add instructions to national voting registration forms for Kansas and Arizona citizens regarding proof of citizenship requirements, on hold as the case goes to the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit [official website]. While the states contends that the requirements are necessary to ensure that non-citizens do not vote in their elections, the EAC has expressed concern that the additional documentation required will discourage people from registering to vote.

Debate over voter ID laws [JURIST backgrounder] has sparked continuing controversy in the US. In April a judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that Wisconsin’s Act 23 [text, PDF], which requires residents to present photo identification to vote, violates the Voting Rights Act and the US Constitution. Also in April the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court upheld its earlier decision striking down [JURIST report] Pennsylvania’s voter ID law. Earlier that month a judge for the Pulaski County Circuit Court for the 6th Division [official website] struck down [JURIST report] an Arkansas voter ID law, finding that it violates the state constitution.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.