c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776
Tucson [zip code exempt]
ARIZONA REPUBLIC
September 19, 1996
Mr. Larry Bahill
Registrar of Voters
Pima County Recorder
115 North Church Avenue
Tucson, Arizona
Subject: Qualified Elector Registration
Dear Registrar:
Thank you for your letter to Me, dated September 18, 1996,
providing Me with information about the "Voter Registration
forms" and places where I may obtain them.
It has already come to My attention that the Arizona voter
registration affidavit requires that I certify, under penalty of
perjury, that I am a citizen of the United States before I am
eligible to vote.
As a part-time student of comparative economic history, I have
stumbled across a number of court cases which, quite to My
surprise, decided that an American may be a Citizen of Arizona
state without also being a citizen of the United States (see
attached). Confer also at the definition of federal citizenship
in Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition.
Since I am a Citizen of Arizona state who is not also a citizen
of the United States, nor do I ever want to become a citizen of
the United States because so many federal government agents are
now involved in widespread criminal syndicalism and even murder
(e.g. Oklahoma City bombing), this is My question to you:
As a Citizen of Arizona state who is not also a federal citizen,
how can I sign your voter registration affidavit without also
committing perjury?
I certainly would like to vote in the upcoming election,
particularly for My representative in the Congress of the United
States, but I do not wish to be forced into declaring a foreign
status just because I wish to exercise My fundamental Right to
choose My representative. Nor do I have any intention of
committing perjury.
Please correct Me if I am wrong, but it is My understanding that
U.S. Representatives are supposed to be elected by the People of
the several States (see U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2,
Clause 1). In My opinion, this provision proves that voting for
U.S. Representatives is the exercise of a fundamental Right, and
not a privilege which can be taxed, regulated, or liened.
I would appreciate your timely clarification of these matters.
One last thing: If I am not listed on the voter registration
roster, does this mean I will never be called to serve on a grand
jury or trial jury, either state or federal?
Your timely response to these questions will be most appreciated.
I want to do everything I can to make sure that the State of
Arizona does not obstruct, in any way, My fundamental Right to
choose My Representative in the Congress of the United States in
the upcoming general election in November.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell
Paul Andrew, Mitchell, B.A., M.S.
Citizen of Arizona state, federal witness
and Counselor at Law
copy: Counsel
Representatives Jim Kolbe, Ed Pastor
Senators John Kyl, John McCain
Court authorities follow:
In this state both statutes and judicial decisions have
recognized the fundamental right of citizens generally
not only to vote but also to hold office (Gov. Code,
Secs. 274, 275, Carter v. Comm. on Qualifications, etc.
(1939) 14 Cal. 2d 179, 182, 93 P.2d 140, People v.
Washington (1869) 36 Cal. 658, 662) ....
[Fort v. Civil Service Com'n of County of Alameda]
[392 P.2d 385 (1964)]
It is quite clear, then, that there is a citizenship of
the United States** and a citizenship of a State, which
are distinct from each other and which depend upon
different characteristics or circumstances in the
individual.
[Slaughter House Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (1873)]
[emphasis added]
We have in our political system a Government of the
United States** and a government of each of the several
States. Each one of these governments is distinct from
the others, and each has citizens of its own ....
Slaughter-House Cases
[United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1875)]
[emphasis added]
A person who is a citizen of the United States** is
necessarily a citizen of the particular state in which
he resides. But a person may be a citizen of a
particular state and not a citizen of the United
States**. To hold otherwise would be to deny to the
state the highest exercise of its sovereignty, -- the
right to declare who are its citizens.
[State v. Fowler, 41 La. Ann. 380]
[6 S. 602 (1889), emphasis added]
There are, then, under our republican form of
government, two classes of citizens, one of the United
States** and one of the state. One class of citizenship
may exist in a person, without the other, as in the
case of a resident of the District of Columbia; but
both classes usually exist in the same person.
[Gardina v. Board of Registrars, 160 Ala. 155]
[48 S. 788, 791 (1909), emphasis added]
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Arizona v. Mitchell : Voting Rights Violation