Possible noncitizens identified in Arizona election database: 'Coding error'

An error in state software is raising doubts about the citizenship of 100,000 registered Arizona voters, prompting the Democratic secretary of state to vow to send out ballots to those affected regardless.

"I refuse to disenfranchise so many voters by limiting them unexpectedly to a federal-only ballot, without any prior notice, as none of them were responsible for this issue," Secretary of State Adrian Fontes stated during a Tuesday news conference. "We inherited this problem, we're working on it, and we'll resolve it. It's that simple."

Individuals who obtained their driver's licenses before October 1996 and subsequently received duplicates before registering to vote after 2004 are affected by a mistake. Since 2005, Arizona has required proof of U.S. citizenship for voting in state and local elections. Without this proof, these voters would be considered "federal only" voters, permitting them to vote solely on presidential and congressional elections rather than the full ballot.

"We have no reason to believe that any voter in this gap is not eligible, even though we found one who did not fit the criteria. Further research is needed to determine their eligibility."

The Arizona Supreme Court is being asked by the Maricopa County Recorder's Office to rule on whether voters impacted by the data breach must prove their U.S. citizenship before the November election.

According to Fontes, the error arises because longtime Arizona residents have been voting in elections under the belief that they had already provided proof of citizenship. If the justices rule that these individuals are only eligible to vote in federal races, Fontes stated that there will be an outreach effort to inform them.

Arizona Republicans and a conservative watchdog group have been advocating for stricter voting measures that demand evidence of U.S. citizenship to vote in state and national elections. Despite being a swing state that turned blue in the 2020 presidential election, Arizona remains a battleground state.

In April 2024, over 35,000 registered voters in Arizona had not provided proof of citizenship, limiting them to voting only in federal races, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office. As a result, a watchdog group called America First Legal sued 15 Arizona counties for allegedly refusing to remove these voters from its voter rolls.

U.S. House Republicans are trying to include H.R. 8281, which requires voter registration proof of citizenship, in a temporary government funding bill.

Neither of the two U.S. Senate candidates from Arizona, Kari Lake (Republican) and Ruben Gallego (Democrat), provided a comment by the deadline.