An oversight in state software in Arizona has brought the citizenship status of approximately 100,000 registered voters into question. This issue has prompted the state's Democratic Secretary of State to assure that ballots will be sent out to those affected individuals despite the discrepancy.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes emphasized during a news conference that disenfranchising such a large number of voters due to this sudden limitation would be unfair. The error primarily impacts individuals who obtained driver’s licenses before October 1996 and later received duplicates before registering to vote after 2004. Since 2005, Arizona has mandated proof of U.S. citizenship for participation in state and local elections.
Fontes stated, 'We don't have any reason to believe that anyone in this gap is not an eligible voter. We don't have any reason to believe that they're not eligible citizens in spite of the fact that we did find one. All we know is they fit into this category and all of this requires more research.'
The Maricopa County Recorder's Office has filed an emergency petition seeking a ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court on whether affected voters must prove U.S. citizenship before the upcoming November election.
Fontes highlighted that the error has led long-time Arizona residents to vote in elections assuming they had already provided proof of citizenship. If the court determines that these individuals are only eligible for federal races, an outreach effort will be made to inform them accordingly.
Arizona has been a focal point for voting-related discussions, with Republicans and conservative groups advocating for stricter voting measures that necessitate proof of U.S. citizenship for participation in elections. The state, which flipped blue in the 2020 presidential election, is also a swing state.
Recently, a watchdog group sued 15 Arizona counties for allegedly failing to remove thousands of illegal immigrants from voter rolls. The lawsuit claims that over 35,000 registered voters in Arizona had not provided proof of citizenship as of April 2024, limiting them to voting solely in federal races.
Furthermore, U.S. House Republicans are working to attach H.R. 8281, a bill that mandates proof of citizenship for voter registration, to a temporary government funding bill after its passage in July.
