A federal judge is upholding new Arizona laws that would require registered voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order for their votes to be counted.

Arizona legislators faced accusations of discrimination when they adopted the laws requiring counties to verify the status of registered voters but, in a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ruled that such requirements were not discriminatory.

Bolton said the state has an interest in preventing voter fraud and limiting voting to those individuals eligible to vote.

“Considering the evidence as a whole, the court concludes that Arizona’s interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizona’s elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to provide (documentary proof of citizenship),” the judge wrote.

These previous voter requirements included literacy tests that effectively precluded Native American and Latino voters from participating and voter roll purges.

Bolton said past attempts to exclude voters were irrelevant to the current attempts to prevent voter fraud. The judge noted there was no evidence presented by the plaintiffs to reflect an intent by lawmakers to suppress voter registrations.

In 2022, then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed the measures into law. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)

The laws were passed in the wake of the 2020 presidential election that was marred by claims of voter fraud in Arizona.

In 2022, then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed the measures into law, which were passed on party-line votes.

“Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote,” Ducey wrote in March 2022.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.