An “administrative issue” is being cited after nearly 100,000 Arizona voters received incorrect ballots, raising concerns about how long the error has gone unnoticed and why it was only identified now.
ABC15 in Phoenix reported that the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office discovered that more than 97,000 local residents were affected. There is a possibility that non-citizens may have been issued ballots. The key issue is whether many of these voters received full ballots instead of federal-only ballots.
Stephen Richer, a local election official and Republican, announced on X that he would be suing Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes over the mistake.
“Later today, my office is suing the Secretary’s office regarding how to handle certain voters who need to provide documented proof of citizenship,” he wrote Wednesday morning. “Since 2004, Arizona has been the only state in the country to require that a voter provide documented proof of citizenship in order to vote a full ballot.
“For all other states, the registrant simply has to attest under penalty of law that he is a United States citizen. Since 1996, Arizona has also required that residents provide proof of citizenship in order to obtain most forms of driver’s licenses,” he added.
In 2004, Arizona established a barrier to prevent non-citizens from voting by directing the state’s Motor Vehicles Division (MVD) to scrutinize the majority of voter registrations processed through its office. Only U.S. citizens are eligible to obtain a driver’s license in Arizona.
Richer pointed out that drivers who obtained their licenses before 1996 do not have their citizenship records maintained by the MVD. He claims this oversight has remained unaddressed since 2004.
“My office discovered this issue last week, and we have been working with the Governor’s Office, the Secretary’s Office, the MVD, and the Attorney General to fix this moving forward,” Richer added.
“The Secretary argues that it is too close to the election to implement such a change and that it would be unduly burdensome on voters and deprive them of their voting rights. That is why we are going to the courts. To get a clear answer,” he noted further.
