Judge dismisses lawsuit over citizenship check for voting

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused Mississippi of using a discriminatory proof-of-citizenship requirement for some new voters. The dismissal came Tuesday — weeks after the state repealed the 1924 law requiring naturalized citizens to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. The secretary of state had been running names of potential new voters through a state Department of Public Safety database. The new law says if that raises questions about citizenship, the name must also be checked in a federal immigration database. Voting rights groups say that provides a safeguard to protect naturalized citizens from being incorrectly marked as noncitizens.