PHOENIX -- Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is leading a coalition of nine state attorneys general in an amicus brief before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) supporting election integrity in Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. The coalition argues that authorized agents should be able to ensure that duly enacted laws, including election integrity laws, are fully defended in court when challenged.
"It is incumbent on public servants to stand up and defend laws when others cower to political pressure," said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. "I am proud that our recent win at the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ability of states to administer elections and pass laws to protect the results."
In 2018, the people of North Carolina amended the State’s constitution to provide that “[v]oters offering to vote in person shall present photographic identification before voting.” The General Assembly then passed—over the Governor’s veto—S.B. 824, a commonsense election integrity bill. It ensures that free photo ID is available at county election offices in all of the State’s 100 counties. It also allows voters who appear at the polls without ID to complete a reasonable impediment form to indicate why they could not present ID and vote with a provisional ballot. Despite these provisions, groups still sued over the law.
The coalition's brief argues that when states such as North Carolina authorize multiple state officials to defend laws, courts should let the officials intervene in the case to carry out their duty. This makes perfect sense here, where the Governor vetoed the challenged law and may not defend it fully.
General Brnovich is a nationally recognized champion of election integrity following his successful defense of Arizona’s common-sense election laws in 2020. He personally argued Brnovich v. DNC in 2021, which is widely regarded as the most significant election case SCOTUS has heard in recent history. That victory provided a strong precedent that is now assisting other states in defending their election integrity laws.
Joining Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich are the Attorneys General of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
Copy of amicus brief here.