Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/12pdf/12-71_7l48.pdf
Page Number: 7.0

4 

ARIZONA v. INTER TRIBAL COUNCIL OF ARIZ. INC. 

Opinion of the Court 

Court  consolidated  the  cases  and  denied  the  plaintiffs’ 
motions  for  a  preliminary  injunction.    App.  to  Pet.  for 
Cert.  1g.  A  two-judge  motions  panel  of  the  Court  of  Ap-
peals  for  the  Ninth  Circuit  then  enjoined  Proposition  200 
pending appeal.  Purcell, 549 U. S., at 3.  We vacated that 
order and allowed the impending 2006 election to proceed 
with the new rules in place.  Id., at 5–6.  On remand, the 
Court  of  Appeals  affirmed  the  District  Court’s  initial 
denial of a preliminary injunction as to respondents’ claim
that  the  NVRA  pre-empts  Proposition  200’s  registration 
rules.  Gonzales  v.  Arizona,  485  F. 3d  1041,  1050–1051 
(2007).  The District Court then granted Arizona’s motion 
for  summary  judgment  as  to  that  claim.    App.  to  Pet.  for
Cert. 1e, 3e.  A panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part 
but  reversed  as  relevant  here,  holding  that  “Proposition
200’s  documentary  proof  of  citizenship  requirement  con-
flicts  with  the  NVRA’s  text,  structure,  and  purpose.” 
Gonzales v. Arizona, 624 F. 3d 1162, 1181 (2010).  The en 
banc  Court  of  Appeals  agreed.    Gonzalez  v.  Arizona,  677 
F. 3d  383,  403  (2012).  We  granted  certiorari.  568  U. S. 
___ (2012). 

II 

The Elections Clause, Art. I, §4, cl. 1, provides: 

“The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of  holding  Elections 
for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed 
in  each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof;  but  the 
Congress  may  at  any  time  by  Law  make  or  alter
such  Regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  chusing 
Senators.” 

The  Clause  empowers  Congress  to  pre-empt  state  regula-
tions governing the “Times, Places and Manner” of holding 
congressional elections.  The question here is whether the 
federal statutory requirement that States “accept and use” 
the  Federal  Form  pre-empts  Arizona’s  state-law  require-