Source: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1542559.html
Timestamp: 2014-03-09 12:14:57
Document Index: 522823984

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 2', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 16', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 6', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973', '§ 1973']

GONZALEZ v. ARIZONA 200, Nos. 08-17094, 08-17115., October 26, 2010 - US 9th Circuit | FindLaw
GONZALEZ v. ARIZONA 200
Maria M. GONZALEZ,; Luciano Valencia; The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.; Arizona Advocacy Network; Steve M. Gallardo; League of United Latin American Citizens Arizona; League of Women Voters of Arizona; People for the American Way Foundation; Hopi Tribe, Plaintiffs, Bernie Abeytia; Arizona Hispanic Community Forum; Chicanos Por La Causa; Friendly House; Jesus Gonzalez; Debbie Lopez; Southwest Voter Registration Education Project; Valle Del Sol; Project Vote, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. State of ARIZONA; Jan Brewer, in her official capacity as Secretary of State of Arizona; Shelly Baker, La Paz County Recorder; Berta Manuz, Greenlee County Recorder; Candace Owens, Coconino County Recorder; Lynn Constable, Yavapai County Election Director; Kelly Dastrup, Navajo County Election Director; Laura Dean-Lytle, Pinal County Recorder; Judy Dickerson, Graham County Election Director; Donna Hale, La Paz County Election Director; Susan Hightower Marlar, Yuma County Recorder; Gilberto Hoyos, Pinal County Election Director; Laurette Justman, Navajo County Recorder; Patty Hansen, Coconino County Election Director; Christine Rhodes, Cochise County Recorder; Linda Haught Ortega, Gila County Recorder; Dixie Mundy, Gila County Election Director; Brad Nelson, Pima County Election Director; Karen Osborne, Maricopa County Election Director; Yvonne Pearson, Greenlee County Election Director; Penny Pew, Apache County Election Director; Helen Purcell, Maricopa County Recorder; F. Ann Rodriguez, Pima County Recorder, Defendants-Appellees, Yes On Proposition 200, Defendant-intervenor-Appellee,Maria M. Gonzalez; Bernie Abeytia; Arizona Hispanic Community Forum; Chicanos Por La Causa; Friendly House; Jesus Gonzalez; Debbie Lopez; Southwest Voter Registration Education Project; Luciano Valencia; Valle Del Sol; People for the American Way Foundation; Project Vote, Plaintiffs, The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.; Arizona Advocacy Network; Steve M. Gallardo; League of United Latin American Citizens Arizona; League of Women Voters of Arizona; Hopi Tribe, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. State of Arizona; Jan Brewer, in her official capacity as Secretary of State of Arizona; Shelly Baker, La Paz County Recorder; Berta Manuz, Greenlee County Recorder; Candace Owens, Coconino County Recorder; Patty Hansen, Coconino County Election Director; Kelly Dastrup, Navajo County Election Director; Lynn Constable, Yavapai County Election Director; Laura Deanlytle, Pinal County Recorder; Judy Dickerson, Graham County Election Director; Donna Hale, La Paz County Election Director; Susan Hightower Marlar, Yuma County Recorder; Gilberto Hoyos, Pinal County Election Director; Laurette Justman, Navajo County Recorder; Christine Rhodes, Cochise County Recorder; Linda Haught Ortega, Gila County Recorder; Dixie Mundy, Gila County Election Director; Brad Nelson, Pima County Election Director; Karen Osborne, Maricopa County Election Director; Yvonne Pearson, Greenlee County Election Director; Penny Pew, Apache County Election Director; Helen Purcell, Maricopa County Recorder; F. Ann Rodriguez, Pima County Recorder, Defendants-Appellees, Yes on Proposition 200, Defendant-intervenor-Appellee.
Argued and Submitted Oct. 20, 2009. -- October 26, 2010
Before SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, Associate Justice,ALEX KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, and SANDRA S. IKUTA, Circuit Judge.*
Nina Perales, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, San Antonio, TX, for Plaintiffs/Appellants Jesus M. Gonzalez, et al. Jon M. Greenbaum, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Washington, D.C., for Plaintiffs/Appellants Inter Tribal Council, et al. Karen J. Hartman-Tellez, Phoenix, AZ, for Plaintiffs/Appellants Inter-Tribal Council, et al. Barbara A. Bailey, Assistant Attorney General, Phoenix, AZ, for Defendants/Appellees State of Arizona and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett. Mary R. O'Grady, Solicitor General, Phoenix, AZ, for Defendants/Appellees State of Arizona and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett. Dennis Wilenchik, Wilenchik and Bartness, P.C., Phoenix, AZ, for Defendants/Appellees Shelly Baker, La Paz County Recorder, et al. Sam Hirsch, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, D.C., on behalf of Amicus Curiae The League of Women Voters of the United States. Kali N. Bracey, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, D.C., on behalf of Amicus Curiae The League of Women Voters of the United States. Jessica Ring Amunson, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, D.C., on behalf of Amicus Curiae The League of Women Voters of the United States. Barnaby W. Zall, Weinberg & Jacobs, LLP, Rockville, MD, on behalf of Amicus Curiae American Unity Legal Defense Fund, Inc. Charles E. Borden, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington, D.C., on behalf of Amicus Curiae National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. Joel M. Spector, Mountain States Legal Foundation, Lakewood, CO, on behalf of Amicus Curiae Mountain States Legal Foundation. Michael J. Reitz, Evergreen Freedom Foundation, Olympia, WA, on behalf of Amicus Curiae Evergreen Freedom Foundation. Brian D. Netter, Mayer Brown LLP, Washington, D.C., on behalf of Amici Curiae Congressman Robert A. Brady, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Congressman Charles A. Gonzalez, Congressman Raul M. Grijalva, and Congressman Jose E. Serrano. Richard A. Samp, Washington Legal Foundation, Washington, D.C., on behalf of Amici Curiae Protect Arizona Now, Washington Legal Foundation, and Allied Educational Foundation.
OPINIONProposition 200 requires prospective voters in Arizona to present documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, Ariz.Rev.Stat. §§ 16-152, 16-166, and requires registered voters to present proof of identification in order to cast a ballot at the polls, Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 16-159. This appeal raises the questions whether Proposition 200 violates the Voting Rights Act § 2, 42 U.S.C. § 1973, is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth or Twenty-fourth Amendments of the Constitution, or is void as inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg et seq. We hold that the NVRA supersedes Proposition 200's voter registration procedures, and that Arizona's documentary proof of citizenship requirement for registration is therefore invalid. We reject the remainder of Appellants' arguments.IOn November 2, 2004, Arizona voters passed a state initiative, Proposition 200, which (upon proclamation of the Governor) enacted various revisions to the state's election laws. Among other changes, Proposition 200 amended the procedures for voter registration and for checking voters' identification at polling places in both state and federal elections. With respect to voter registration procedures, Proposition 200 amended two state statutes. First, it added the following requirement to section 16-152 of the Arizona Revised statutes, which lists the contents of the state voter registration form:The form used for the registration of electors shall contain ․ [a] statement that the applicant shall submit evidence of United States citizenship with the application and that the registrar shall reject the application if no evidence of citizenship is attached.Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 16-152(A)(23). Second, it amended section 16-166 of the Arizona Revised statutes to state that: “The County Recorder shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship,” and defined satisfactory evidence of citizenship to include a driver's license or similar identification license issued by a motor vehicle agency, a birth certificate, passport, naturalization documents or other specified immigration documents, or specified cards relating to Native American tribal status. See Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 16-166(F).1 Proposition 200 also addressed identification procedures at polling places. Specifically, Proposition 200 amended section 16-579 of the Arizona Revised Statutes to provide that voters “shall present one form of identification that bears the name, address and photograph of the elector or two different forms of identification that bear the name and address of the elector.” Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 16-579(A) (2004). The Secretary of State, acting under statutory authority, see Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 16-452(A), (B), promulgated a procedure specifying the “forms of identification” accepted under the statute, which included photograph-bearing documents such as driver's licenses and non-photograph-bearing documents such as utility bills or bank statements. In 2009, the state legislature amended section 16-579 to codify that procedure.2 Shortly after Proposition 200's passage, various plaintiffs filed a complaint against Arizona to prevent the implementation of these changes. Two groups of plaintiffs are relevant to this appeal. Jesus Gonzalez, representing individual Arizona residents and organizational plaintiffs, claimed that Proposition 200 violated the NVRA (to the extent the Arizona enactment regulated federal registration procedures), was a poll tax under the Twenty-fourth Amendment, burdened naturalized citizens in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and disparately impacted Latino voters and diluted Latino voting power in violation of § 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA), a non-profit organization representing twenty Arizona tribes, filed a complaint along with various other organizations,3 the Hopi Tribe, and Representative Steve Gallardo from the Arizona State House of Representatives.4 Like Gonzalez, ITCA claimed that Proposition 200 violated the NVRA (to the extent it regulated federal registration procedures), and constituted a poll tax under the Twenty-fourth Amendment. ITCA also separately claimed that Proposition 200 was a poll tax under the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court consolidated Gonzalez and ITCA's complaints.Gonzalez and ITCA moved for a preliminary injunction to enjoin application of Proposition 200's requirements in the 2006 general election, Gonzalez v. Arizona (Gonzalez I ), 485 F.3d 1041, 1047 (9th Cir.2007). The district court denied their motion, but a motions panel of this court reversed and granted the injunction pending disposition of the merits on appeal. Id. The Supreme Court vacated the injunction, and remanded for clarification whether this court had given due deference to the district court's findings of fact. Id. at 1048; see Purcell v. Gonzalez, 549 U.S. 1, 5 (2006). On remand, Gonzalez and ITCA chose to pursue injunctive relief with respect only to Proposition 200's registration requirement. Gonzalez I, 485 F.3d at 1048. The Gonzalez I panel thereafter affirmed the district court's denial of the preliminary injunction, holding that Proposition 200's registration requirement was not a poll tax, id. at 1049, and was not a violation of the NVRA, id. at 1050-51. The district court subsequently granted Arizona's motion for summary judgment, relying on Gonzalez I to rule that Proposition 200 was not an unconstitutional poll tax and was not invalid as conflicting with the NVRA. After trial, the district court resolved all other claims in favor of Arizona, holding that Proposition 200 did not violate § 2 of the Voting Rights Act and did not discriminate against naturalized citizens or burden the fundamental right to vote in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.On appeal, Gonzalez and ITCA challenge the district court's rulings on the NVRA and the Twenty-fourth Amendment. In addition, ITCA claims that Proposition 200 is an invalid poll tax under the Fourteenth Amendment, and Gonzalez challenges the district court's decisions on both the Voting Rights Act claim and the equal protection challenge for discrimination based on national origin and undue burden on the fundamental right to vote. We consider each of these claims in turn.IIWe begin with Gonzalez's claim that Proposition 200's documentary proof of citizenship requirement for registration is superseded by the NVRA's comprehensive procedure for registering voters in federal elections. Gonzalez argues that the NVRA preempts Arizona law under both the Supremacy Clause and the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In response, Arizona relies on the Supremacy Clause's “presumption against preemption,” Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 485 (1996), to argue that the NVRA did not expressly or impliedly preempt state voter registration laws. Before addressing the parties' arguments, we first consider whether the framework of the Elections Clause or the Supremacy Clause guides our analysis here.AThe Elections Clause establishes a unique relationship between the state and federal governments. It provides:The Times, Places, and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of chusing Senators.U.S. Const. art, I, § 4, cl. 1. In a nutshell, the Elections Clause gives state governments initial responsibility to regulate the mechanics of national elections, “but only so far as Congress declines to preempt state legislative choices.” Foster v. Love, 522 U.S. 67, 69 (1997).The history of the Elections Clause reveals the reasoning behind this unusual delegation of power. Under the Articles of Confederation, the states had full authority to maintain, appoint, or recall congressional delegates.5 At the Philadelphia Convention, delegates expressed concern that, if left unfettered, states could use this power to frustrate the creation of the national government, most obviously by neglecting to hold federal elections.6 The Framers decided that Congress should be given the authority to oversee the states' procedures related to national elections as a safeguard against potential state abuse. See U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779, 808-09 (1995); see also The Federalist No. 59 (Alexander Hamilton) (Ron P. Fairfield 1981 ed., 2d ed.) (explaining that “[n]othing can be more evident, than that an exclusive power of regulating elections for the national government, in the hands of the State legislatures, would leave the existence of the Union entirely at their mercy”). Over the protest of some Southern delegates,7 the Framers approved language giving Congress power to “make or alter” the states' regulations. See 5 Elliot's Debates 401-02 (statement of James Madison). As subsequently modified to give Congress supervisory power, this language became the Elections Clause.8 As indicated by this historical context, the Elections Clause empowers both the federal and state governments to enact laws governing the mechanics of federal elections. By its plain language, the Clause delegates default authority to the states to prescribe the “Times, Places, and Manner” of conducting national elections in the first instance. U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1. The states would not possess this authority but for the Clause: As the Supreme Court has noted, the authority to regulate national elections “aris [es] from the Constitution itself,” and is therefore “not a reserved power of the States.” U.S. Term Limits, 514 U.S. at 805. Because federal elections did not come into being until the federal government was formed, individual states have no inherent or preexisting authority over this domain. See id. at 804-05.While the states have default responsibility over the mechanics of federal elections, because Congress “may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations” passed by the state, U.S. Const. art. I, § 4, cl. 1, power over federal election procedures has been described by the Supreme Court as ultimately “committed to the exclusive control of Congress.” Colgrove v. Green, 328 U.S. 549, 554 (1946).9 Accordingly, “the power of Congress over the subject is paramount. It may be exercised as and when Congress sees fit to exercise it. When exercised, the action of Congress, so far as it extends and conflicts with the regulations of the State, necessarily supersedes them.” Ex Parte Siebold, 100 U.S. 371, 384 (1879); see also Foster, 522 U.S. at 69.Not only does the Elections Clause grant Congress authority to supersede state election laws, but we have interpreted the Clause to require states to affirmatively implement Congress's superseding regulations, without compensation from the federal government. Voting Rights Coalition v. Wilson, 60 F.3d 1411, 1415 (9th Cir.1995). Put another way, the Elections Clause gives Congress the power to “conscript state agencies to carry out [federal] voter” procedures in accordance with Congress's own mandates. Id. This makes the Clause unique among virtually all other provisions in the Constitution, which “mostly tell [states] not what they must do but what they can or cannot do.” ACORN v. Edgar, 56 F.3d 791, 794 (7th Cir.1995).In sum, a state's role in the creation and implementation of federal election procedures under the Elections Clause is to administer the elections through its own procedures until Congress deems otherwise; if and when Congress acts, the states are obligated to conform to and carry out whatever procedures Congress requires. See Foster, 522 U.S. at 69.As should be clear from this overview, the Elections Clause operates quite differently from the Supremacy Clause. The Supremacy Clause provides that the law of the United States “shall be the supreme Law of the Land; ․ any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding.” U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. “The primary function of the Supremacy Clause is to define the relationship between state and federal law. It is essentially a power conferring provision, one that allocates authority between the national and state governments.” White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Williams, 810 F.2d 844, 848 (9th Cir.1985).In our system of dual sovereignty, when deciding under the Supremacy Clause whether a particular state law is preempted by a federal enactment, courts strive to maintain the “delicate balance” between the States and the Federal Government. Gregory v.. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452, 460 (1991); see Medtronic, 518 U.S. at 485. Courts thus endeavor to preserve the states' authority when possible, see Gregory, 501 U.S. at 460, particularly where a congressional enactment threatens to preempt a state law regulating matters of its residents' health and safety, an area to which “[s]tates traditionally have had great latitude ․ to legislate” as a matter of local concern, Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. Massachusetts, 471 U.S. 724, 756 (1985). See also Altria Group, Inc. v. Good, 129 S.Ct. 538, 543 (2008); Medtronic, 518 U.S. at 485. Only where no reconciliation between state and federal enactments may be reached do courts hold that Congress's enactments must prevail, e.g., Altria, 129 S.Ct. at 543, with the understanding, however, that “the individual States ․ retain[their] independent and uncontrollable authority ․ to any extent” that Congress has not interfered, see The Federalist No. 33(Alexander Hamilton).In light of the different history and purpose of these constitutional provisions, it is not surprising that the preemption analysis for the Supremacy Clause differs from that of the Elections Clause. In its Supremacy Clause jurisprudence, the Supreme Court has crafted special guidelines to assist courts in striking the correct balance between federal and state power. First, in examining claims that a federal law preempts a state statute through the Supremacy Clause, the Supreme Court instructs courts to begin with a “presumption against preemption.” E.g., Altria Group, 129 S.Ct. at 543; Medtronic, 518 U.S. at 485. This principle applies because, as the Court has recently noted, “respect for the States as independent sovereigns in our federal system leads us to assume that Congress does not cavalierly pre-empt state-law causes of action.” Wyeth v. Levine, 129 S.Ct. 1187, 1195 n.3 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). Second, the Court has adopted a “plain statement rule,” holding that a federal statute preempts a state statute only when it is the “clear and manifest purpose of Congress” to do so. Gregory, 501 U.S. at 461(internal quotation marks omitted); see also Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc ., 505 U.S. 504, 516 (1992) (“Consideration of issues arising under the Supremacy Clause starts with the assumption that the historic police powers of the States are not to be superseded by ․ Federal Act, unless that is the clear and manifest purpose of Congress.”) (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted)). Like the presumption against preemption, this rule “is nothing more than an acknowledgment that the States retain substantial sovereign powers under our constitutional scheme, powers with which Congress does not readily interfere.” Gregory, 501 U.S. at 461.This jurisprudence, which is motivated in large part by federalism concerns, is unsuited to analyzing the preemptive effect of a congressional enactment under the Elections Clause. Because the states' sole power over national election procedures is that delegated by the Elections Clause, U.S. Term Limits, 514 U.S. at 805, and states otherwise have no reserved authority over this domain, id., courts deciding issues raised under the Elections Clause need not strike any balance between competing sovereigns. Instead, the Elections Clause, as a standalone preemption provision, establishes its own balance, resolving all conflicts in favor of the federal government. See, e. g., Foster, 522 U.S. at 71(stating that “the Constitution explicitly gives Congress the final say” on matters related to federal election procedures). For this reason, the “presumption against preemption” and “plain statement rule” that guide courts' analysis of preemption under the Supremacy Clause are not transferable to the Elections Clause context. Cf. Gregory, 501 U.S. at 460-61. Indeed, the Supreme Court has suggested as much. In Foster, the Court upheld the Fifth Circuit's determination that a state election law was voided by a federal election law; however, instead of adopting the Fifth Circuit's Supremacy Clause analysis, the Supreme Court analyzed the claim under the Elections Clause, without ever mentioning any presumption against preemption or requirement of a plain statement of congressional intent to preempt. See Foster, 522 U.S. 67; Love v. Foster, 90 F.3d 1026 (5th Cir.1996), cert. granted in 522 U.S. 67. In fact, our survey of Supreme Court opinions deciding issues under the Elections Clause reveals no case where the Court relied on or even discussed Supremacy Clause principles.Because the Elections Clause empowered Congress to enact the NVRA, Wilson, 60 F.3d at 1414, the pre-emption analysis under that Clause is applicable here. We begin our analysis as the Court did in Foster, guided by Election Clause preemption principles. Accord Harkless v. Brunner, 545 F.3d 445, 454 (6th Cir.2008) (declining to apply Supremacy Clause preemption principles in analyzing the preemptive effect of the NVRA).BThe Supreme Court first explained the principles of Elections Clause preemption in Siebold, 100 U.S. 371. In that case, the Court likened the relationship between the laws passed by Congress and the state legislatures under the Elections Clause to “prior and subsequent enactments of the same legislature.” Id. at 384. “The State laws which Congress sees no occasion to alter, but which it allows to stand, are in effect adopted by Congress.” Id . at 388. By this token, just as a subsequent legislature is not required to make an “entirely new set” of laws when modifying those of a prior legislature, neither is Congress required to wholly take over the regulation of federal election procedures when choosing to “make or alter” certain of the states' rules. Id. at 384. According to the Court, there is no “intrinsic difficulty in such co-operation” between the state and national legislatures because the two governments do not possess an “equality of jurisdiction” with respect to federal elections. Id. at 392. While Congress may override state enactments, the state may not vitiate an action of Congress by adopting a system of regulations to undo congressional efforts. See id. at 393, 397. In all instances, “the laws of the State, in so far as they are inconsistent with the laws of Congress on the same subject, cease to have effect as laws.” Id. at 397.Over a century later, the Supreme Court clarified what constitutes a conflict under the Elections Clause's single system of federal election procedures. See Foster, 522 U.S. 67. Foster considered whether a congressional enactment superseded a Louisiana statute regulating the same federal election procedure. Id. at 68-69. Specifically, sections 1 and 7 of Title 7 of the U.S.Code established the date for federal congressional elections as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Id. at 69-70. A Louisiana statute established an open primary in October where state voters could elect the candidate who would fill the offices of United States Senator and Representative. Id. at 70. Only if the open primary failed to result in a majority candidate would a run off election between the top two candidates be held on Congress's specified election day. Id. In response to a challenge by Louisiana voters, the Court unanimously held that the state and federal acts conflicted, and thus invalidated the Louisiana law. Id. at 74.In concluding that Congress's power to preclude the state statute was beyond argument, the Court rejected the state's claim that its statute and the federal enactment could be construed harmoniously. Id. at 73. Louisiana asserted that “the open primary system concern[ed] only the ‘manner’ of electing federal officials, not the ‘time’ at which the elections will take place.” Id. at 72. The Court discarded this “attempt to draw this time-manner line” as “merely wordplay” and an “imaginative characterization” of the statutes. Id. at 72-73. Building upon the principles from Siebold, the Court declined to adopt a strained interpretation of the statutes to reconcile a potential disagreement. See id. Rather, the Court emphasized Congress's unique plenary authority not only to supplant state rules but to conscript states to carry out federal enactments under the Elections Clause, and found it enough that, under a natural reading, the state and federal enactments addressed the same procedures and were in conflict. Id . (noting that the Louisiana's regulation addressed the timing of elections “quite as obviously” as the federal one). Refusing to “par[e] [the statute] down to the definitional bone,” the Court held that the state enactment was void. Id. at 72, 74.Reading Siebold and Foster together, we derive the following approach for considering whether federal enactments under the Elections Clause displace a state's procedures for conducting federal elections. First, as suggested in Siebold, we consider the state and federal laws as if they comprise a single system of federal election procedures. Siebold, 100 U.S. at 384. If the state law complements the congressional procedural scheme, we treat it as if it were adopted by Congress as part of that scheme. See id. If Congress addressed the same subject as the state law, we consider whether the federal act has superseded the state act, based on a natural reading of the two laws and viewing the federal act as if it were a subsequent enactment by the same legislature. Foster, 522 U.S. at 74. With this approach in mind, we consider whether the NVRA and Proposition 200 operate harmoniously in a single procedural scheme for federal voter registration.CTo resolve the question here, we must first understand both the federal and state voter registration procedures at issue. We earlier explained the changes to Arizona's registration statutes under Proposition 200, which incorporated a requirement that registrants submit documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. See supra Part I; Ariz.Rev.Stat. §§ 16-152, 16-166. Our next step is to examine the scope of the NVRA.1Congress enacted the NVRA because, among other reasons, it determined that “discriminatory and unfair registration laws and procedures can have a direct and damaging effect on voter participation in elections for Federal office and disproportionately harm voter participation by various groups, including racial minorities.” 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg(a).Initially, Congress attempted to address this problem by enacting legislation that permitted the government and prospective voters to challenge discriminatory practices in the courts. See South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301, 313 (1966) (discussing the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which “authorized the Attorney General to seek injunctions against public and private interference with the right to vote on racial grounds,” and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which “expedited the hearing of voting cases before three-judge courts and outlawed some of the tactics” used to disqualify African Americans from voting in federal elections).10 The elimination of discriminatory voting practices through litigation, however, was “slow and expensive, and [meanwhile] the States were creative in contriving new rules to continue violating the Fifteenth [and Fourteenth] Amendment[s] in the face of adverse federal court decrees.” Nw. Austin. Mun. Utility Dis. No. One v. Holder (NAMUDNO ), 129 S.Ct. 2504, 2508-09 (2009) (internal quotations marks omitted). To limit voter registration, some local officials defied court edicts or “simply closed their registration offices to freeze the voting rolls.” Katzenbach, 383 U.S. at 314. Congress's attempts to “authoriz[e] registration by federal officers ․ had little impact on local maladministration.” Id. Nearly a century after the Civil War, registration of eligible African American voters in some states was still fifty percentage points lower than that of eligible white voters. Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630, 640 (1993).Congress tried a different approach to addressing this problem by passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965(VRA), Pub.L. No. 89-110, 79 Stat. 437(codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1973 et seq.). The VRA, enacted under the authority of Congress's Fifteenth Amendment enforcement powers, is “a complex scheme of stringent remedies aimed at areas where voting discrimination has been most flagrant.” Katzenbach, 383 U.S. at 308, 315. As enacted, the VRA suspended the use of literacy tests, § 4(a)-(d), required covered jurisdictions to pre-clear changes in voting procedures and practices, § 5, and provided for the appointment of federal examiners to assist in registering qualified citizens to vote, §§ 6, 7, 9, 13. Section 2 of the VRA also permits actions to be brought to void voting qualifications or prerequisites “resulting in the denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account or race or color.”While considered on the whole to be a successful tool in eliminating the more obvious discriminatory voting procedures, see NAMUDNO, 129 S.Ct. at 2511, the VRA failed to address voter registration procedures, which imposed a “complicated maze of local laws and procedures, in some cases as restrictive as the out-lawed practices, through which eligible citizens had to navigate in order to exercise their right to vote,” H.R.Rep. No. 103-9, at 3 (1993). Between 1988 and 1993, Congress held a series of hearings focused on reforming the voter registration process to address the increasingly pressing issue of low voter turnout in federal elections. Condon v. Reno, 913 F.Supp. 946, 949 n.2 (D.S.C.1995). Congress found that, while over eighty percent of registered citizens voted in Presidential elections, only sixty percent of eligible voters were registered. H.R.Rep. No. 103-9, at 3. Public opinion polls showed that the primary reason eligible citizens were not voting was the failure to register. Id. While acknowledging that this failure was attributable to many factors outside its control, Congress enacted the NVRA to address the problems within its control, namely those barriers to registration that were imposed by state governments. See id. Under the Elections Clause, Congress had the power “to provide a complete code for congressional elections, not only as to times and places, but in relation to ․ registration.” Smiley v. Holm, 285 U .S. 355, 366 (1932). Through this authority, Congress enacted the NVRA to remove these obstacles and “to provide simplified systems for registering to vote in federal elections.” Young v. Fordice, 520 U.S. 273, 275 (1997) (emphasis omitted).2The NVRA is a comprehensive scheme enacting three significant changes to federal election registration procedures nationwide: (1) it creates a standard “Federal Form” (described below) for registering federal voters; (2) it requires states to establish procedures to register voters for federal elections according to three prescribed methods; and (3) it regulates maintenance of voting lists. See 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg et seq.Section 1973gg, setting forth the act's “Findings and Purposes,” provides an overview of the NVRA. The “findings” subsection, § 1973gg(a), articulates Congress's intent to promote voter registration and to address “discriminatory and unfair registration laws.” The “purposes” subsection, § 1973gg(b), provides a preview of the operative sections of the NVRA, listing Congress's goals of increasing voter registration and enhancing the participation of eligible voters (relating to Sections 2 through 5, § 1973gg-2-§ 1973gg-5) and the goals of ensuring the accuracy of registration rolls and protecting the integrity of the electoral process (relating to Section 6, § 1973gg-6).Section 2, § 1973gg-2, sets forth the scope and applicability of the act.11 Each state (except for those that do not require voter registration as a prerequisite to voting) “shall establish procedures to register” voters for federal elections according to the NVRA's three methods “notwithstanding any other Federal or State law, in addition to any other method of voter registration provided for under State law.” § 1973gg-2(a).The first method of voter registration is described in Section 3, § 1973gg-3. This section provides that any application for a driver's license submitted to a state motor vehicle authority “shall serve as an application for voter registration with respect to elections for Federal office unless the applicant fails to sign the voter registration application.” § 1973gg-3(a)(1). This provision earned the statute its informal title, the “Motor Voter Law.” United States v. Lara, 181 F.3d 183, 191 (1st Cir.1999). Under the statute, the voter registration form must be part of the driver's license application, and generally “may not require any information that duplicates information required in the driver's license portion of the form.” § 1973gg-3(c)(2)(A). Section 3 also limits the content of the form to the minimum necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and to enable the state to assess the eligibility of the applicant.12 The second method of voter registration, set forth in Section 4, § 1973gg-4, requires states to register federal voters by mail using the Federal Form. Section 4(a)(1) states that “[e]ach State shall accept and use the [Federal Form] for the registration of voters in elections for Federal office.” Section 4(a)(2) provides that, “[i]n addition to accepting and using [the Federal Form], a State may develop and use a mail voter registration form that meets all the criteria” of the Federal Form. Section 4(b) discusses the availability of the Federal Form and the state equivalent: States must make the mail registration form “available for distribution through governmental and private entities, with particular emphasis on making them available for organized voter registration programs.” § 1973gg-4(b). With certain exceptions not pertinent here, the statute permits states to require citizens who register by mail to vote in person if they have not previously voted in the jurisdiction. § 1973gg-4(c).The third method of federal voter registration is mandated by Section 5, § 1973gg-5, which requires states to designate certain state offices for voter registration. Targeting “the poor and persons with disabilities who do not have driver's licenses and will not come into contact with” motor vehicle agencies, H.R.Rep. No. 103-55, at 19 (1993), as reprinted in 1993 U.S.C.C.A.N. 140, 144, this section requires states to provide for federal registration at “all offices in the State that provide public assistance,” § 1973gg-5(a)(2)(A), and “all offices in the State that provide State-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities,” § 1973gg-5(a)(2)(B). The state may also designate additional government offices such as “public libraries, public schools, offices of city and county clerks (including marriage license bureaus), fishing and hunting license bureaus, government revenue offices, unemployment compensation offices, and [other offices] that provides services to persons with disabilities” as voter registration agencies. § 1973gg-5(a)(3).Section 5 requires each designated agency to provide applicants with the Federal Form, help them complete it, and mandates “[a]cceptance of completed voter registration application forms for transmittal to the appropriate State election official.” § 1973gg-5(a)(4)(A). As in Section 4, the designated state agency may also distribute a state form, but only “if it is equivalent” to the Federal Form. § 1973gg-5(a)(6)(A)(ii).Section 6, § 1973gg-6, establishes procedures to enhance the accuracy and integrity of the official voting lists both by removing ineligible voters and preventing the mistaken removal of eligible voters.Section 7, § 1973gg-7, describes how the federal and state governments will determine the contents of the Federal Form, and otherwise coordinate administration of the NVRA's procedures. This section delegates the creation of the Federal Form to the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC).13 § 1973gg-7(a). The section requires the EAC to work “in consultation with the chief election officers of the States” in crafting the Form's contents. Id.Section 7 also sets out parameters for what the Federal Form may, shall, and cannot include.14 Among other things, the Federal Form “may require only such identifying information” as is necessary to allow the state to determine the eligibility of the applicant and to administer the voter registration and election process. § 1973gg-7(b)(1). The Federal Form must inform the applicant as to every eligibility requirement “including citizenship” and require the applicant to attest, under penalty of perjury, that the applicant meets each requirement. § 1973gg-7(b)(2). The form “may not include any requirement for notarization or other formal authentication.” § 1973gg-7(b)(3).Section 8, § 1973gg-8, requires states to designate an officer to serve as chief election official. Section 9, § 1973gg-9, regulates civil enforcement of the NVRA's provisions and designates a private right of action under the statute. Section 10, § 1973gg-10, sets forth the criminal penalties for election fraud or other non-compliance with the statute.As this overview indicates, the thrust of the NVRA is to increase federal voter registration by streamlining the registration process. In this vein, the NVRA requires states to make registration opportunities widely available, at the motor vehicle bureau, § 1973gg-3, by mail, § 1973gg-4, and at public assistance, disability service, and other designated state offices, § 1973gg-5. Along with increasing the opportunities for registration, the NVRA eases the burdens of completing registration forms. At the motor vehicle authority, for instance, voter registration must be included as part of the driver's license application and the combined form cannot require duplicative information. § 1973gg-3(c)(2)(A). The NVRA also regulates the Federal Form to meet its goal of eliminating obstacles to voter registration. See § 1973gg(b)(1)-(2). Thus, the NVRA forbids the EAC from including any identifying information beyond that “necessary to enable the appropriate State election official to assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter registration and other parts of the election process.” § 1973gg-7(b)(1). In sum, as every court to have considered the act has concluded, the NVRA's central purpose is to increase voter registration by streamlining voter registration procedures. See, e.g., Harkless, 545 F.3d at 449; Welker v. Clarke, 239 F.3d 596, 598-99 (3d Cir.2001) (“One of the NVRA's central purposes was to dramatically expand opportunities for voter registration ․”); Disabled in Action of Metro. N.Y. v. Hammons, 202 F.3d 110, 114 (2d Cir.2000); Lara, 181 F.3d at 192(“The NVRA is addressed to heightening overall popular participation in federal elections․”); Nat'l Coal. for Students with Disabilities Educ. & Legal Def. Fund v. Allen, 152 F.3d 283, 285 (4th Cir.1998) (“Congress passed the NVRA ․ to encourage increased voter registration for elections involving federal offices” and “to make it easier to register to vote.”); ACORN v.. Miller, 129 F.3d 833, 835 (6th Cir.1997) (“In an attempt to reinforce the right of qualified citizens to vote by reducing the restrictive nature of voter registration requirements, Congress passed the [NVRA].”).3Turning now to our Elections Clause analysis, we consider whether Proposition 200's document