When it comes to presidential elections, swing states have stolen the thunder from other states. In the 2020 presidential election, the swing states were Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The winning vote margin between the candidates in those seven states in 2020 was less than 3% and they are expected to play an important role in this year’s presidential election, according to usvotefoundation.org.

Recent developments in Arizona and Georgia show how important those states are considered by Republicans and Democrats.

The Center Square reported on Aug. 21 that a coalition of 24 states, 20 of them controlled by Republicans, called on the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure that non-citizens don’t vote in federal elections, in accordance with federal law. They filed a brief with the court in support of an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship in order to vote.

The Associated Press reported a day later that the Supreme Court rejected the Republican push that could have blocked more than 41,000 Arizona voters from casting ballots for president in the state that Democratic President Joe Biden won by less than 11,000 votes four years ago.

However, in a 5-4 order, the high court allowed some enforcement of regulations barring people from voting if they don’t provide proof of citizenship when they register.

The court didn’t explain its reasoning. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch would have allowed the Arizona law to be fully enforced. Justice Amy Coney Barrett would have joined with the court’s three liberals in fully rejecting the push.

The AP said the legal fight will continue in lower courts.

There were 41,352 voters who haven’t provided proof of citizenship in Arizona on Aug. 9. The Democratic secretary of state said most of those voters are inactive and include military service members, students and Native Americans. About 27% are registered Democrats and 15% are Republicans. More than half, 54%, are registered independents.

The AP said there is no evidence that the existence of federal-only voters has allowed non-citizens to illegally vote, but Republican skeptics have nonetheless worked aggressively to crack down on federal-only voting.

The Hill, a top U.S. political website, said in Georgia that recent last-minute rule changes by the State Election Board — an unelected panel of three Republicans, one Democrat and a non-partisan chair — have raised alarm among citizens and elections officials that the battleground state’s election results could easily be thrown into disarray.

The state board recently began requiring local boards to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results, which critics warn could cause delays. The board voted 3-2 that investigations must also be ordered if local election board members locate discrepancies at a precinct.

Republican Brad Raffensperger, Georgia secretary of state, has spoken out against the board’s actions as an “11^th-hour effort to impose new activist rulemaking.” Earlier this month, he said refusing to certify election results is unlawful and that counties must certify results by Nov. 12.

The former secretaries of state in Pennsylvania and Washington warned that the flurry of election changes could create delays that bump up on deadlines prescribed in the Constitution.

“If they’re delaying the certification of the presidential election, they’re delaying the certification of the entire election,” said Kim Wyman, the former Republican secretary of state in Washington.

A former official in Donald Trump’s administration supports tougher voting rules and said, “I want to see good rules in place before the voting starts, and I want to see them followed. And that didn’t necessarily happen in 2020.”

Louisiana’s Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has told all state agencies in an executive order they must tell non-citizens they can’t vote in Louisiana. His order comes despite the fact the state already uses data from the Office of Motor Vehicles and Social Security Administration to verify those who register to vote.

Landry’s order is definitely overkill because the Legislature at its session earlier this year passed 11 new laws toughening voting requirements. One of those new laws requires proof of citizenship to register to vote starting Jan. 1.

Republican officials like Landry who support Trump are doing everything the former president tells them to do and more.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.