Case Summary
LWVLA and co-plaintiffs filed a suit in federal court against various Louisiana state officials for their implementation of SB 436. Plaintiffs alleged the new documentary proof of citizenship bill violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and was unconstitutionally vague in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
In 2024, the Louisiana legislature passed Senate Bill 436 (SB 436), which went into effect January 1, 2025. The bill specifies that citizens registering to vote “shall include with [their] application proof of United States citizenship” without specifying what proof is acceptable or how it is to be provided.
Currently, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) does not require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, but instead mandates registrants swear under penalty of perjury they are United States citizens.
On January 28, 2025, pursuant to the NVRA, civil rights organizations sent the defendants a pre-suit notice letter. The letter warned Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry that enforcement of the documentary proof of citizenship provision of SB 436 would constitute a violation of the NVRA. After defendants’ 90-day period to correct the violation passed without answer, on May 14, 2025, the League of Women Voters of Louisiana (LWVLA), Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), NAACP Louisiana State Conference (LA NAACP), and Power Coalition for Equity and Justice (PCEJ) filed a complaint against Louisiana Secretary of State Landry and other state officials.
The suit argues the law is unconstitutionally vague under the First Amendment and violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and four sections of the NVRA. The relevant sections impose limits on what proof of citizenship may be required in state voter registration forms. They require acceptance of the federal voter registration form, require that voters who submit facially valid proof be registered for federal elections, and ensure that federal or equivalent state registration forms are available at certain public facilities.
LWVLA and its co-plaintiffs are represented by Campaign Legal Center, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
LWV Timeline
LWVLA files lawsuit
LWVLA and co-plaintiffs file their complaint in federal court, challenging SB 436 as a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the NVRA.