A federal appeals court is refusing to order Arizona to count provisional ballots cast by voters whose citizenship wasn't confirmed when they applied to register to vote.

A civil rights group asked an appeals court to require Arizona counties to process provisional ballots from voters with unconfirmed citizenship status.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry Goddard says Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is trying to grab headlines by traveling to San Francisco, where the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing arguments dealing with Arizona's tough new immigration law.

A federal appeals court has struck down a key part of Arizona's law requiring voters to prove they are citizens before registering to vote or casting ballots.