Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and his office are at the center of a legal dispute over allegations that the state registered over 218,000 individuals to vote without requiring proof of citizenship.
The controversy, which has drawn national attention, stems from claims that the Secretary of State’s office is withholding this list from the public, sparking concerns about transparency and election integrity.
The lawsuit was filed by America First Legal (AFL) on behalf of the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona. The group claims that Fontes and his office have refused to release a list of voters who registered without providing the citizenship proof mandated by law. AFL submitted a public records request asking for the list, which was reportedly denied.
The lawsuit’s details allege that Fontes’ office responded to the request with hostility, accusing the organization behind the request, EZAZ.org (Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona), of plotting to harass the voters on the list. AFL disputes these allegations, insisting that their request is purely about ensuring compliance with Arizona law.
In a press release, AFL stated, “There is no evidence to support Secretary Fontes’s conspiracy theory, and EZAZ.org has no intention of harassing anyone. Secretary Fontes also feebly claimed that compiling the list would be too hard for his staff. None of these excuses hold water.”
AFL further criticized the Secretary of State’s office for not sharing the list with county recorders, which, they claim, makes it impossible for local officials to verify whether these individuals are citizens. According to Arizona law, county recorders are required to conduct monthly checks on every voter who hasn’t provided proof of citizenship, a requirement that AFL argues is being neglected.
Elon Musk, CEO of X (formerly Twitter), even weighed in on the controversy. In a post responding to AFL’s lawsuit, Musk warned, “Citizens of Arizona, this election is your last chance before you’re disenfranchised.”
The issue of voter registration without proof of citizenship in Arizona isn’t entirely new. In mid-September, Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer publicly acknowledged a decade-old flaw in Arizona’s system that had allowed 97,000 residents to register to vote without submitting proof of citizenship. This error, which had gone unnoticed for years, impacted counties across the state and applied to individuals who obtained driver’s licenses before 1996.
Since 1996, Arizona has required proof of citizenship to apply for a driver’s license, and since 2004, proof of citizenship has been required to vote in both federal and state elections. However, for those who obtained a license before 1996 and later renewed or replaced it, the system failed to register their lack of citizenship proof. As a result, many of these individuals were erroneously flagged as having citizenship documentation on file.
Richer explained that this flaw had been present in every Arizona county since 2004, meaning that thousands of voters had slipped through the cracks. The Maricopa County recorder took action by filing a lawsuit against the Secretary of State’s Office to determine whether these individuals should be limited to voting in federal elections only, as they had not provided the documentation required to vote in local and state elections.
Richer argued that those voters who failed to provide proof of citizenship had not complied with Arizona law and should only be allowed to vote using a “federal-only” ballot. However, Fontes and his office pushed back, claiming that it was too close to the upcoming elections to make such changes and that doing so could disenfranchise voters. To resolve the issue, Richer turned to the courts for a clear ruling on the matter.
On September 20, the Arizona Supreme Court unanimously decided to allow the affected individuals to vote using full ballots in the upcoming elections, despite the lack of proof of citizenship. However, the situation took another turn when the Secretary of State’s office announced on September 30 that the initial estimate of 97,000 unverified voters was significantly lower than the actual number. The updated total, according to the Secretary of State’s press release, was closer to 218,000 registered voters without documented proof of citizenship.
The discovery that the number of potentially unverified voters was more than double the initial figure raised further concerns. In their statement, the Secretary of State’s office broke down the numbers, noting that the 218,000 included approximately 79,000 Republicans, 61,000 Democrats, and 76,000 individuals registered with other parties.
Despite the legal battles and the ongoing debate, the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision still stands, meaning that all 218,000 individuals will be allowed to vote using a full ballot. However, critics like AFL continue to push for transparency and compliance with Arizona’s voter registration laws. The refusal by the Secretary of State’s office to release the list has led to speculation about what might be uncovered if the public were given access to it.
As the 2024 election approaches, the issue of voter registration and proof of citizenship remains a contentious topic in Arizona. For many, the lawsuit highlights broader concerns about election integrity, while others see it as an attempt to disenfranchise voters. What’s clear is that this legal dispute is far from over, and its outcome could have significant implications for Arizona’s electoral process going forward.
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