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Press release/statement
Report: Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Requirements Are Much Costlier than Expected
Millions of taxpayer dollars spent and thousands of voters disenfranchised—citizenship voting requirements are proving far more costly than predicted.
New York, NY — Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Dēmos, and State Voices have released “The Costs of Implementing Documentary Proof of Citizenship Bills,” a new report detailing the significant financial, administrative, and bureaucratic burdens caused by Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC) laws in Arizona, Kansas, and other states.
Systems required to enforce DPOC requirements can cost states millions of taxpayer dollars to implement, maintain, and defend.
The report released Thursday found that systems required to enforce DPOC requirements can cost states millions of taxpayer dollars to implement, maintain, and defend. The requirements, which are already known to result in barriers to the ballot for eligible voters, are also financially onerous for the localities that must implement them.
The 2025 reintroduction of the federal Safeguard American Voter States (SAVE) Act inspired a wave of similar legislation in states across the country, by and large requiring voters to present documented proof of their citizenship whenever they register or re-register to vote—often in person, and with strict limitations on what counts as proof of citizenship. The new report takes a closer look at the immense costs Arizona and Kansas have incurred to implement these requirements and offers a major warning to other states contemplating such bills.
"We knew already that policies requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote harm our democracy by disenfranchising voters who don't have access to a passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers," said Marissa Liebling, Chief of Programs at State Voices. "Now, it's clear these programs are also a burden to taxpayers—needlessly siphoning away resources that could go to valuable social programs to instead carry the administrative and legal burden of an ill-advised policy. It's past time we shelve these proposals permanently."
"We already have strict laws to ensure that only American citizens vote in federal elections," said Lata Nott, director for voting rights policy at Campaign Legal Center. "Not only are documentary proof of citizenship laws discriminatory, confusing, and very likely to disenfranchise eligible voters, our research highlights very clearly they are costly to implement and create administrative burdens for election officials. Simply put, these requirements are bad policy and a waste of time and resources.”
Ultimately, DPOC bills are ill-conceived and irresponsible.
"These laws come with an unacceptably high risk of voter disenfranchisement, particularly for voters of color and low-income communities.” said Neda Khoshkhoo, Interim Director of Democracy at Dēmos. “As the report makes clear, they also are extremely costly and burdensome to implement. Ultimately, DPOC bills are ill-conceived and irresponsible.”
The report shows that Arizona and Kansas–two states with some of the most robust records of DPOC implementation–each incurred millions of dollars in implementation and system error remediation costs, and likely incurred additional, undocumented costs.
Despite mounting evidence, the financial implications of these laws continues to be drastically underestimated by legislatures in states with DPOC in place, as well as those considering the practice. In addition to Arizona and Kansas, the report reviewed bills in the following states, finding that the legislation either grossly underestimated the cost of DPOC systems or failed to include any fiscal impact analysis at all:
- Alabama
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Missouri
- New Hampshire
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Wyoming
The rushed and incomplete financial analyses in these states frequently failed to account for the particular costs that local election administration officials would have to bear, including the significant staff time required to identify and remedy issues with registration.
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The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center (CLC) advances democracy through law. We safeguard the freedom to vote, defend voters’ right to know who is spending money to influence elections, and work to ensure public trust in our elected officials.
Dēmos is a non-profit public policy organization working to build a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy and economy. We work hand in hand to build power with and for Black and brown communities, forging strategic alliances with grassroots and state-based organizations.
State Voices is a network of 24 State Tables, 8 Emerging States, and over 1,200 on-the-ground partners across 50 states fighting for a world where every vote is counted, every voice is heard, and every need is met. As advocates, organizers, and activists united across the U.S., State Voices is collectively building a healthy democracy and political power with Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and all people of color.
Read the report
