Louisiana Repeals 1874 Discriminatory Voter Registration Law

June 6th, 2016

Awake Goy

Proof of citizenship such as naturalization papers or U.S. issued passport will no longer be required of naturalized citizens attempting to register to vote in Louisiana.

The state of Louisiana just repealed a law dating back to 1874 that discriminated against naturalized citizens who attempted to register to vote. Facing a lawsuit, State officials chose to rescind the law rather than fight over it in court.

Louisiana law requires everyone to swear they are citizens when they complete their voter registration forms. Nowhere on the forms is it stated that naturalized citizens must provide documentation of their citizenship; nor is this requirement mentioned on the website for the Louisiana secretary of state. However, after naturalized citizens register to vote they are sent a letter demanding proof of citizenship. Native-born Americans are only asked to swear that they are citizens.

There are over 72,000 naturalized citizens living in Louisiana. Many of them were prevented from voting in the 2016 presidential primary because of the proof of citizenship requirement.

In May, 2016, a federal lawsuit to overturn the discriminatory law was filed by the Fair Elections Legal Network (FELN) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on behalf of three naturalized citizens who needed to meet the proof of citizenship requirement. According to the lawsuit, the requirement violated the equal protection clause of the 14^th Amendment, Title III of the Civil rights Act of 1964, and the National Voter registration Act.

The Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association (VAYLA) of New Orleans, a non-profit organization that has attempted to register voters, was also a plaintiff in the case. They have faced difficulties in attempting to register naturalized citizens because of the documentation that is required. VAYLA executive director Minh Nguyen says, “It’s demoralizing that our parents and grandparents work so hard to become citizens and yet are still treated unfairly.”

Because the law has been repealed, the lawsuit will be withdrawn. FELN attorney Jon Sherman said, “Louisiana’s state election officials and legislators realized that this 142-year-old discriminatory requirement was legally and morally indefensible. We applaud their commonsense decision to repeal it.” In a written comment on the issue, SPLC leaders stated, “Our democracy is strongest when all eligible voters are allowed to participate equally.”