A federal judge has ruled that New Hampshire must allow voters to attest to their U.S. citizenship through sworn affidavit when registering to vote, finding that the state's 2024 law unconstitutionally removed this verification method. U.S. District Judge Samantha Elliott issued the ruling late Thursday, stating that for many New Hampshire voters, the sworn affidavit was the only available method to prove citizenship.

The New Hampshire law, which took effect last year after being signed by former Republican Governor Chris Sununu, required documentary proof of citizenship such as passports or birth certificates. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and other plaintiffs challenged the requirements as burdensome and unnecessary, arguing they could prevent thousands of eligible voters from casting ballots.

Meanwhile, Utah released results of a year-long audit of its voter rolls, finding that 99.72% of the state's registered voters are confirmed U.S. citizens. Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson's office reported that of more than 2 million voter records reviewed, 27 individuals were identified as non-citizens and removed from the rolls. Only 13 of those individuals had previously cast ballots. An additional 25 probable non-citizens were given 30 days to provide proof of citizenship or face removal.

The Utah audit was conducted amid an escalating legal battle with the Trump administration over access to voter registration data. The results were released Wednesday as the Department of Justice has pressed for access to voter information, citing concerns about low removal rates of non-citizen voters.

Several states have implemented proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration, including Arizona, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Florida passed similar legislation this year that will take effect next year. A 2018 federal court ruling struck down a Kansas law requiring citizenship documentation after finding it prevented more than 31,000 citizens from registering to vote.

The New Hampshire attorney general's office said it plans to appeal Elliott's ruling, calling the citizenship requirements a "common-sense approach" to election administration. The Trump administration is currently pushing the SAVE America Act through Congress, which would establish federal proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration.