A Two-Tiered Voting System? What Could Go Wrong?

Kansas and Arizona now require proof of citizenship to vote in state and local – as opposed to national – elections:

The dual methods are in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that bars Arizona from rejecting federal voter-registration forms that don’t include proof of citizenship, which is required by both states. To comply, both plan to provide those voters with ballots listing just federal races. … State officials say they have little choice: the high court didn’t invalidate the statutes that require proof of citizenship to vote in state and local races. Critics say the mandates are designed to impede ballot access for minorities, the poor and older residents who may not have the needed documentation, such as a passport or a birth certificate.

One of those critics is Emily Badger:

This idea will have two obvious and unfortunate consequences:

It will create mass confusion (TPM writes that Kansas is envisioning four different registration scenarios involving two different registration forms, with some people left ineligible to vote in any election). And by creating greater barriers to registration specifically in non-federal elections, the idea threatens to particularly impact elections for offices like mayor, city council, and state representative. We already know that turnout in local elections tends to be dramatically lower than in national ones, with direct implications for who gets elected.

Benen warns, “The Republican war on voting didn’t end in 2012; it metastasized.”