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]


                             #  #  #
      


Return to Table of Contents for

Arizona v. Mitchell : Voting Rights Violation