Here's a look at the election ban on France's far-right Le Pen and the legal issues

PARIS (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has denounced as “a democratic scandal” the court ruling that placed a five-year ban on her seeking public office for embezzling European Union funds. The Paris court says it would be undemocratic to allow a convicted official to run for president.

Monday's decision takes effect immediately and could bar Le Pen from participating in France’s next presidential election in 2027.

The Paris appeals court said Tuesday that three appeals have been filed so far over the verdict, and that it will ‘’examine the case in a time frame that should allow for rendering a decision in the summer of 2026.'' But if other defendants file appeals — Le Pen was among two dozen people convicted — that could slow down the proceedings.

The ruling has reverberated beyond France, sending ripples through far-right circles across Europe and beyond after some parties, including Le Pen's, have gained ground in recent years.

Le Pen is not the first high-profile political figure in France to be sentenced to ineligibility. Here’s a look at the French judicial system, the court’s motives for the ruling and previous decisions.

The three-judge panel said in a written statement they considered the “major disruption to democratic public order” by the election to the presidency of someone convicted of embezzlement.

The ruling is meant to ensure that "elected officials, like all other persons, do not benefit from preferential treatment, not compatible with the trust citizens seek in political life,” the judges said.

They called their decision “proportionate to the constitutional objectives of safeguarding public order.”

In France, judges are independent magistrates who have not been elected. Under the constitution, they cannot be removed from their posts.

“The (judicial) system brought out the nuclear bomb,” Le Pen said Tuesday in the National Assembly, where she is a lawmaker. “And if it is using such a powerful weapon against us, it’s obviously because we’re about to win the elections.”

Le Pen denounced the ruling as “a democratic scandal, a real shame, staining our country.”

She said she hopes an appeal decision will come before the presidential election.

Le Pen herself once strongly denounced judicial scandals involving politicians from the mainstream left and right, calling for a “lifelong" ban on seeking office for those convicted of embezzlement.

In a 2013 video interview now viral on French social media, she can be heard saying, “We need to introduce the lifelong ineligibility for all those who have been convicted for actions committed thanks to or during their mandate.”

Three months before France's 2017 presidential election, a scandal ruined conservative Prime Minister Francois Fillon's chances to win. He later received a 10-year ban from seeking office in a fraud trial.

Former Prime Minister Alain Juppé, another conservative, received a 10-year ban in 2004 in a corruption case. An appeals court reduced the ban to one year. Juppé later made a comeback in French politics.

Socialist Budget Minister Jérôme Cahuzac received a five-year ban in 2018 after acknowledging that he was dodging taxes.

And Le Pen's father, the late Jean-Marie Le Pen, was sentenced to a one-year ban for committing violence against a Socialist rival during the 1997 parliamentary campaign.

Last week, French prosecutors requested a seven-year prison sentence and a five-year period of ineligibility for former President Nicolas Sarkozy over charges that his 2007 presidential campaign was illegally financed by former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s government.

Last week, the Constitutional Council ruled that a period of ineligibility with immediate effect is in line with the constitution.

But it stressed that it’s up to the judges to assess the consequences of imposing such a ban right away and make sure the ruling is “proportionate” and takes into consideration “the preservation of voters’ freedom.”

The Constitutional Council ruled in a separate case with no direct link with Le Pen’s. But its conclusions have been scrutinized for legal guidance that judges are likely to take into consideration.

On Tuesday, Le Pen suggested she would ask the Constitutional Council to issue a decision in her case.

FILE - Former French prime minister Alain Juppe delivers his speech in Bordeaux, southwestern France, Monday, March 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2016 file photo, former French budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac leaves the courthouse, in Paris. Cahuzac has been sentenced Thursday Dec. 8, 2016 to three years in prison for tax fraud and money laundering for hiding his wealth in tax havens around the world. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

FILE - French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon, left, listens to former Prime Minister Alain Juppe, as they visit the music streaming services Deezer's headquarters in Paris, France, Wednesday, April 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool, File)

FILE - French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon addresses his supporters after the first partial official results and polling agencies projections were announced, Sunday, April 23, 2017 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

FILE - France's former Prime Minister Francois Fillon, left, and his wife Penelope, arrive at the Paris courthouse, in Paris, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives as he goes on trial over alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign by the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - French far right leader Marine Le Pen celebrates with newly elected chief of the National Rally president Jordan Bardella during the party congress in Paris, Saturday, Nov.5, 2022. Jordan Bardella is the first party chief outside the Le Pen family in a half-century. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - Head of Marine Le Pen's party list for the European Parliament elections, Jordan Bardella poses after an interview with Associated Press in Nanterre, outside Paris, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen attends a session at the National Assembly, Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen reacts at the National Assembly during a session Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen reacts at the National Assembly during a session Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. House on Thursday approved legislation requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights group have warned could disenfranchise millions of Americans.

The requirement has been a top election-related priority for President Donald Trump and House Republicans, who argue it's needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which is already rare and, as numerous state cases have shown, is typically a mistake rather than part of a coordinated attempt to subvert an election. It's already illegal under federal law for people who are not U.S. citizens to cast ballots and can lead to felony charges and deportation.

The bill, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE Act, now heads to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain because Republicans don't have a large enough majority to avoid a filibuster.

Here’s a look at key issues in the debate over a proof of citizenship requirement for voting:

If it eventually becomes the law, the SAVE Act would take effect immediately and apply to all voter registration applications.

“This has no impact on individuals that are currently registered to vote,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican who has been advocating for the bill.

Voting rights groups say there is more to the story. The law would affect voters who already are registered if they move, change their name or otherwise need to update their registration. That was acknowledged to some extent by the bill’s author, Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, during a recent hearing on the legislation.

“The idea here is that for individuals to be able to continue to vote if they are registered,” Roy said. “If they have an intervening event or if the states want to clean the rolls, people would come forward to register to demonstrate their citizenship so we could convert our system over some reasonable time to a citizenship-based registration system.”

The SAVE Act compels states to reject any voter registration application in which the applicant has not presented “documentary proof of United States citizenship."

Among the acceptable documents for demonstrating proof of citizenship are:

— A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license that “indicates the applicant is a citizen.”

— A valid U.S. passport.

— A military ID card with a military record of service that lists the applicant’s birthplace as in the U.S.

— A valid government-issued photo ID that shows the applicant’s birthplace was in the U.S.

— A valid government-issued photo ID presented with a document such as a certified birth certificate that shows the birthplace was in the U.S.

In general, driver’s licenses do not list a birthplace or indicate that the card holder is a citizen – even many that are REAL ID-compliant.

REAL ID was passed by Congress in 2005 to set minimum standards for IDs such as driver’s licenses and requires applicants to provide a Social Security number and demonstrate lawful status either as a citizen or legal resident.

After years of delays, any driver’s license used for identification to pass through airport security will have to be REAL ID-compliant beginning May 7. U.S. passports will still be acceptable.

Although states designate REAL ID compliance on driver’s licenses with a marking such as a gold or black star, that alone would not indicate U.S. citizenship. People who are legal residents but not citizens also can obtain a REAL ID.

States are currently not required to label IDs with a “citizen” mark, although a handful of states (Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington) offer a citizen-only REAL ID alternative that might meet SAVE Act requirements. Republicans say they hope more states will move in the direction of IDs that indicate citizenship.

“The structure is put in place now to -- I think there’s at least five states that do have the citizenship status as part of the REAL ID -- encourage more states to do so,” Roy said. “That would be part of the goal here.”

Adoption of REAL ID has been slow. As of January 2024, about 56% of driver’s licenses and IDs in the U.S. were REAL ID-compliant, according to data collected by the Department of Homeland Security.

Voting rights group say the list of documents doesn’t consider the realities facing millions of Americans who do not have easy access to their birth certificates and the roughly half who do not have a U.S. passport.

They also worry about additional hurdles for women whose birth certificates don’t match their current IDs because they changed their name after getting married. There were examples of this during local elections last month in New Hampshire, which recently implemented a proof of citizenship requirement for voting.

Republicans say there is a provision in the SAVE Act that directs states to develop a process for accepting supplemental documents such as a marriage certificate, which could establish the connection between a birth certificate and a government-issued ID.

They argue the process is similar to obtaining a U.S. passport or REAL ID-compliant driver’s license.

“We have mechanisms giving the state fairly significant deference to make determinations as to how to structure the situation where an individual does have a name change,” Roy said. “The process is specifically contemplated in this legislation.”

Democrats counter that the bill should have specified how this was to be done, rather than creating the potential to have 50 different rules.

The legislation says applicants who submit the federal voter registration form by mail must present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person to their local election office under a deadline set by their state.

Voting rights groups have noted this would be a huge barrier for people who live in more rural parts of the country, where the nearest election office might be hours away by car.

The SAVE Act directs states, in consultation with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to ensure that “reasonable accommodations” are made to allow individuals with disabilities who submit the form to provide proof of citizenship to their election official.

The legislation also considers that some states permit same-day voter registration and says, in those cases, voters must present proof of citizenship at their polling location “not later than the date of the election.”

That would mean that people who do not have such proof with them would have to return with their documents before polls close to be registered and have their ballot counted.

It’s less clear what this means for those states that have online voter registration systems or automatic voter registration set up through their state’s motor vehicle agency. Democratic state election officials have raised concerns that the legislation means these processes would no longer be operational under the proposal.

The legislation says anyone registering through a state motor vehicle agency also is required to provide proof of citizenship. It directs the Election Assistance Commission to issue guidance to state election officials about implementing the law’s requirements.

Republicans say any instance of voting by noncitizens, no matter how rare, is unacceptable and undermines confidence in U.S. elections.

Democrats respond by saying that voting by noncitizens is already illegal in federal elections —those for president and Congress — and penalties can result in fines and deportation. They say Congress should be more focused on helping states improve their ability to identify and remove any noncitizens who might end up on voter lists instead of forcing everyone to prove citizenship beforehand.

A recent review in Michigan identified 15 people who appear to be noncitizens who voted in the 2024 general election, out of more than 5.7 million ballots cast in the state. Of those, 13 were referred to the attorney general for potential criminal charges. One involved a voter who has since died, and the final case remains under investigation.

“Our careful review confirms what we already knew – that this illegal activity is very rare,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement. “While we take all violations of election law very seriously, this tiny fraction of potential cases in Michigan and at the national level do not justify recent efforts to pass laws we know would block tens of thousands of Michigan citizens from voting in future elections."

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, walks outside of the closed-door House Republican Conference as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to fellow Republicans to push for a House-Senate compromise budget resolution to advance President Donald Trump's agenda, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)