The Arizona Supreme Court recently made a significant ruling allowing nearly 98,000 individuals, whose U.S. citizenship status had not been confirmed, to vote in the upcoming state and local elections. This decision stemmed from a coding oversight in the state software, which led to a discrepancy in the citizenship status of around 100,000 registered Arizona voters.
The issue primarily affected individuals who had obtained their driver's licenses before October 1996 and later received duplicates before registering to vote after 2004. The state's Democratic Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes, announced that ballots would be sent out to those impacted by the oversight, despite the uncertainty surrounding their citizenship status.
Fontes clarified that the discovery of the error was not due to any illegal voting activities but rather a result of routine voter roll maintenance. The disagreement arose between Fontes and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County recorder, regarding the voting eligibility of the affected individuals.
Richer contended that the registrants had not met Arizona's proof of citizenship requirements and should only be allowed to vote using a 'FED ONLY' ballot. This disagreement prompted Richer to file a special action with the state Supreme Court to seek resolution on the matter.
Notably, this incident occurred amidst a broader political context in Arizona, where Republicans and conservative groups have been advocating for stricter voting regulations that mandate proof of U.S. citizenship to participate in both state and federal elections. Arizona, a swing state that shifted to the Democratic party in the 2020 presidential election, has been at the center of debates surrounding voting integrity and access.
