Must I be a Citizen to Vote?

A recent story (10/26/2010) from the Arizona Daily Star reports that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down Arizona’s requirement that individuals show proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

Can this be true? If you live in Arizona, you do not have to prove you are a U. S. citizen when you register to vote? Are you thinking, “This doesn’t make any sense. It must be true only in Arizona!”

I checked out the voter registration form in my home state of Colorado. Here is a link to a .PDF copy of the form we use.

Note that the Colorado Voter Registration Form requires you to state that you are a citizen, but it does not require you to prove you are a citizen. When you come to vote, you simply bring a copy of a recent electricity bill showing you live where you say you live, and you can vote.

Doesn’t that seem a little awkward? Colorado wants to confirm the jurisdiction in which you reside, but not whether you are a citizen of the country!

And we are not alone. Across the USA, this is one of those “litmus test” issues.

Do you believe in the sanctity of the voting process in America? If so, you are probably a Republican.

UPDATE:
Linked by Left Coast Rebel!  Also, Michelle Malkin devotes a column to voter fraud in America.  Maybe we're starting to see some traction on this issue?

UPDATE 11/22/2010:
The Denver Post has an editorial today that addresses this issue.  The money quote is, "That's a debate worth having, but we would have to be convinced that such a requirement wouldn't prove too burdensome."

Can the act of presenting necessary and sufficient documentation to prove you are qualified ever be "too burdensome"?  Where else is this standard applied?  Does our Constitution actually say that proving American citizenship might be too burdensome when registering to vote?

Our regulation-prone culture appears to believe you've got to be licensed for everything except being a citizen.

UPDATE 6/26/2012:
Florida seems to have the same problem as Colorado: Non-citizens are voting.

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