(CN) - The state of Louisiana on Tuesday sued the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, challenging its refusal to allow the state to add a proof of citizenship requirement to federal voter registration forms.

After Louisiana passed a law in 2024 requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, the Louisiana Department of State requested the commission approve state-specific language for the federal voter registration form requiring applicants in Louisiana to provide either a unique immigration number or the applicant's place of birth, sex and mother's maiden name (if known) in order to enable election officials to search databases to verify the applicant's citizenship.

The commission split 2-2 on whether to allow Louisiana to make this addition, depriving the state of the majority needed to approve the request. The commission's two Democratic members wrote in a statement explaining their votes against the proposal that Louisiana had not shown the added requirement is necessary to determine voter eligibility.

"This question was directly contemplated by Congress in the legislative history of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Congress determined that an attestation of citizenship under penalty of perjury was sufficient to verify citizenship of applicants utilizing the federal form," the commissioners said. "Congress has proposed legislation to revisit this issue many times since the passage of the NVRA. In fact, there is currently legislation before Congress to address this very issue. Considering this and the Supreme Court's guidance under the 'major questions doctrine,' any change to the requirements to prove citizenship when utilizing the federal form should be made by Congress."

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, the Louisiana attorney general and secretary of state argue the commission exceeded its legal authority in denying Louisiana's request.

"The EAC does not have the authority or right under the NVRA to decline the secretary of state's request to modify the Louisiana-specific instructions on the federal form that reflect the voter qualification and registration laws of the state of Louisiana or that enable Louisiana election officials to assess the eligibility of applicants and administer voter registration and other parts of the election process," they argue. "To the extent the EAC interprets its authority under the NVRA as including the right to deny a state from requesting information it not only determined was necessary to assess the eligibility of applicants and administer voter registration but also to comply with state law which requires proof of citizenship, such an interpretation exceeds the scope of Congress' and the EAC's authority."

The commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Louisiana's lawsuit Tuesday night.

The plaintiffs also challenge the constitutionality of a portion of the National Voter Registration Act stating the federal voter registration form may only require information "necessary to enable the appropriate state election official to assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter registration and other parts of the election process."

"This statutory provision purports to limit Louisiana's sovereign right to determine voter eligibility by permitting Louisiana to exercise that right only 'as is necessary' according to a federal agency," the plaintiffs say in the complaint. "That is a shocking intrusion upon a power and right that the Constitution expressly delegates to states like Louisiana - and for that reason, it is unconstitutional."

In a separate lawsuit, meanwhile, a coalition of civil and voting rights groups is challenging the legality of Senate Bill 436, the Louisiana law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, which the groups call "a hackneyed solution in search of a phantom problem." Litigation in that case is ongoing in the Middle District of Louisiana.

Source: Courthouse News Service