Arizona Court Grants Voting Rights to 98,000 with Unverified Citizenship

Arizona's Supreme Court has ruled that approximately 98,000 residents with unverified citizenship status can participate in state and local elections.

This decision follows the discovery of a database error affecting voters' citizenship verification, according to the Associated Press. CGP Grey / Wikimedia

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, announced the resolution of the error, but the status of affected voters remained uncertain.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, sought the court's opinion on the matter. Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia

The court agreed with Fontes' argument that denying voting rights to those who believed they had met citizenship requirements would raise constitutional concerns. Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia

Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer stated in the ruling, "We are unwilling on these facts to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state contests." Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia

Fontes celebrated the ruling on X, writing: "We won. No voters on 'the list' will be made Fed-Only. Congrats team. Thank you amici. Now ... let's go have an election!!" Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia

Richer, despite his initial disagreement, thanked the court for their swift review, stating on X: "Arizona Supreme Court ruled for defendant (Fontes). The 100k registrants will continue to vote a full ballot this election. Thank God." Madden / Wikimedia

Arizona has required proof of U.S. citizenship for state and local elections since 2005.

The database error primarily affected longtime residents aged 45 to 60, with a slight majority being registered Republicans. Element5 Digital / Pexels

The Arizona Republican Party supported allowing these voters to participate.

State GOP chair Gina Swoboda said in a statement to Newsweek, "Nearly 100,000 Arizona voters should not be penalized for a mistake made by the government." Arizona Republican Party / Wikimedia