Nearly 100,000 Arizona voters are in limbo thanks to an error in registration system

Voters walk out of a building where "Vote" signs are posted

Sept. 17, 2024 5:43 PM PT

Arizona is the only state that requires anyone who wants to cast a ballot in state and local elections to show documented proof of citizenship.
Several crucial state races hang in the balance — including a measure about whether to enshrine abortion access in the state Constitution.

The ability of nearly 100,000 Arizonans to vote in state and local elections is headed to court after election officials said they discovered an error in their system last week, throwing a chaotic wrinkle into the battleground state’s voter registration roll — less than two months before election day.

At issue is Arizona’s unique requirement that voters provide proof of citizenship for state and local elections. The subject has long plagued politics, despite very little evidence that noncitizens attempt to vote.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said Tuesday that 97,688 people statewide were listed as registered for the full ballot, although they had not actually provided proof of citizenship.

“All of these people have attested under penalty of law that they are U.S. citizens. And, in all likelihood, they [are] almost all U.S. Citizens,” he said in a statement posted on X. “But they have NOT provided documented proof of citizenship.”

Richer, a Republican, brought a lawsuit Tuesday against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, about whether the people in question should have access to a full ballot for November’s election (there are approximately 4.1 million people registered to vote in Arizona, according to the secretary of state’s office). The matter is urgent — Arizona is scheduled to send its first ballots to military and overseas voters on Saturday.

“That is why we are going to the courts,” Richer wrote. “To get a clear answer.”

Why does Arizona have a proof-of-citizenship law?

Any voter in the United States may cast a ballot in federal elections simply by attesting to their citizenship under penalty of perjury. Arizona is the only state in the country that requires anyone who wants to cast a ballot in state and local elections to show documented proof of citizenship.

As a result, Arizonans can fill out one of two forms when registering to vote: either as a federal-only voter with no documented proof of citizenship, or as a full ballot voter with documented proof.

Arizona’s saga over proof of citizenship began in 2004, when 56% of Arizonans passed Proposition 200, a measure designed after California’s infamous Proposition 187. The Arizona measure, passed during a time of increased attention on illegal immigration through the border state, required Arizonans to present proof of citizenship to access a slew of public benefits, including voting.

What was the error?

Arizona has required proof of citizenship to get a driver’s license in most cases since 1996. So, for most Arizonans registering to vote, having a driver’s license was sufficient evidence of their citizenship — the state’s voter registration system would simply check to confirm the voter got a driver’s license after 1996.

However, that system had a snag.

“Unfortunately, the way the system was designed allowed for one group of voters through the cracks,” Richer said in his statement.

On a KTAR radio show Tuesday, Richer cited as an example someone who obtained a driver’s license in 1992, but then lost it in 2012 and obtained a duplicate license. The system would show an updated license issuance date of 2012.

“Then the voter registration system would think that accordingly, you have documented proof of citizenship on file,” Richer said. “When, in fact, that was not the case.”

Richer said the Maricopa County registrar’s office last week discovered a noncitizen who was registered to vote for a full ballot.

“While the non-citizen had not cast any ballots in prior elections, the discovery prompted an urgent, collaborative review among county and state officials,” Richer’s lawsuit said.

“After Recorder Richer brought an erroneous voter registration record to my attention, my team identified and fixed an administrative error that originated in 2004, and affects longtime residents who received a driver’s license before 1996,” Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a statement Tuesday.

So what now?

The back-end error is fixed, officials said. But elections officials are now divided about what to do with the roughly 97,000 Arizonans who are registered to receive a full ballot in November’s election without having shown proof of citizenship.

Fontes, the secretary of state, said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the people affected are primarily between 45 and 60 years old. Republicans are the plurality of voters, followed by independents and Democrats.

Fontes said Arizona should maintain status quo until after the November election, allowing those voters to receive a full ballot.

But Richer said that, legally, those registrants should get a federal-only ballot for November.

“He and I have a different legal perspective on what needs to happen here,” Richer said of his “friendly lawsuit” against Fontes’ office.

Several crucial state races in Arizona hang in the balance — including a measure that would enshrine abortion access in the state Constitution. Both Richer and Fontes are urging the Arizona Supreme Court to issue a ruling as soon as possible.

What should Arizonans do?

Voters in Arizona can contact the secretary of state’s office or their local county registrar for guidance. But for now, Fontes said, Arizonans should “hang tight.” Depending on how the court rules, voters may not have to do anything — or they may have to show proof of citizenship in order to vote in state and local elections.

Voters who are on this list will be contacted soon, both Richer and Fontes said. Fontes added that his office is working to set up a portal for voters to submit their proof of citizenship, if the court deems it is needed before the November election.

Regardless of the court proceedings, Fontes encouraged Arizonans to vote early.

The politics of proof of citizenship

Former President Trump renewed interest in recent years over the issue of proof of citizenship for voting, with his false claims that illegal immigrants are voting in droves.

Election officials have repeatedly debunked the claims. Although there are occasional instances of noncitizens registering to vote, Arizona’s secretary of state said, they are “vanishingly rare.”

“It’s based on this mythology that there’s an enormous amount of non-citizen voting that’s happening that might skew an election one direction or another. It’s crazy,” Fontes told The Times in an interview last week. “There’s zero data behind this.”

While Arizona deals with the latest battle over its unique rules, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is seeking to make proof of citizenship for voting a nationwide issue. He said in a social media post Tuesday that he would attach the SAVE Act — which would require proof of citizenship for voting — to his next proposed congressional spending bill.

“I urge all of my colleagues to do what the overwhelming majority of the people of this county rightfully demand and deserve — prevent non-American citizens from voting in American elections,” he wrote.

Johnson attempted the same thing last week, but ultimately pulled the proposal because it lacked support. Congress must pass a spending bill in the next two weeks to avoid a government shutdown.

The ongoing proof-of-citizenship debacle coincides with National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday.