The case of Purcell v. Gonzales was heard in three courts: The U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, (Case No. 2:06-cv-01268-ROS and 3:06-cv-1575-PHX-ROS), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (Case No. 06-16702, 06-16706), and the U.S. Supreme Court (Case No. 06A375, 06A379, 06-532, 06-533).
In Purcell v. Gonzales, the registered voters in the state of Arizona and various voters' rights groups were the plaintiffs and challenged Proposition 200, which is a law that imposed new restrictions on both voting and voter registration. The requirement that registered voters had to give proof of U.S. citizenship was among the restrictions. The six types of identification needed to show U.S. citizenship are a driver's license issued by the driver's state, a U.S. birth certificate, a U.S. passport, documentation of U.S. naturalization, immigration papers documenting U.S. citizenship, or a Bureau of Indian Affairs card number. When voters are at the polls, they are required to give proper identification with their name, address, and two forms of ID with the voter's name, address, and photograph. Applications for voter mail applications, which were given by the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission, are not given anymore.
The plaintiffs in the case of Purcell v. Gonzales claimed that the state of Arizona did not receive clearance ahead of time to halt the use of prescribed voter mail applications. The plaintiffs also claimed that the requirements of voter ID had a negative impact on Latinos. The plaintiffs asserted that Latinos are not as likely to have the forms of ID needed to register to vote and cast a ballot. The plaintiffs finally concluded their claim by asserting that the enforcement of these requirements diverted money from various programs that would encourage people to vote. Because of this, the plaintiffs tried to get a preliminary injunction that would halt the enforcement of the said voter ID requirements. On September 11, 2006 the District Court denied the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction.
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