Arizona Court Grants Voting Rights to 98,000 with Unverified Citizenship
By Jake Beardslee ·
September 21, 2024
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
