Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and his office are facing a lawsuit over a major voter registration scandal.
On behalf of the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, America First Legal filed the complaint, claiming that Fontes and his office are "illegally withholding a list from the public of over 218,000 individuals who registered to vote without providing proof of citizenship as required by law."
AFL filed a public records request asking the secretary of state to turn over the list of individuals. According to AFL, that request was rejected.
"Rather than treating constituents with respect and decorum, their response was a bombastic tirade that invoked a bizarre conspiracy theory accusing EZAZ.org [Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona] of secretly planning to harass the voters on the list," AFL wrote in a press release announcing the lawsuit. "There is, of course, 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. Fontes's staff has already compiled the list–that's how they know the number of affected voters. And there is no risk that these voters will be harassed–EZAZ.org's mission is all about protecting voters."
Additionally, AFL accused the secretary of State of refusing to share the list with county recorders, thereby "making it impossible for them to check whether these individuals are citizens."
"Secretary Fontes's refusal is puzzling because Arizona law requires county recorders to do monthly investigations on every registered voter who has failed to provide citizenship until the individual's citizenship has been confirmed or disconfirmed," AFL added.
Elon Musk responded to the AFL's announcement, warning Arizona residents that they will face disenfranchisement.
"Citizens of Arizona, this election is your last chance before you're disenfranchised," he wrote in a post on X.
In mid-September, Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer announced that Arizona officials had recently discovered a decade-old "flaw" impacting every county in the state that allowed 97,000 Arizonans to register to vote without providing proof of citizenship, Blaze News previously reported.
Richer explained that since 1996, Arizona has required driver's license applicants to provide proof of citizenship, and since 2004, the state has required proof of citizenship to vote a full ballot — both federal and local.
He noted that the "vast majority" of voter applicants have provided proof of citizenship since 2004.
"Unfortunately, the way the system was designed allowed for one group of voters through the cracks," Richer remarked.
That group included Arizona residents who obtained a driver's license before 1996 and, therefore, did not submit proof of citizenship and later requested a renewal or replacement license.
"If a driver received a license prior to 1996, he did not have a documented proof of citizenship on file. But then, if he got a duplicate license (e.g. in the case of losing a license), the issuance date would be updated in the statewide voter registration's interface with MVD," Richer stated.
"Then, if that person went to register, when the counties went to confirm if the person has documented proof of citizenship, the interface between the statewide voter registration system and MVD would yield a date after 1996 and therefore say that the voter had documented proof of citizenship on file with the MVD," he added. "This flaw has existed since 2004. In every county. Across the state."
Richer filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State's Office to determine whether the impacted individuals should be allowed to vote in the upcoming local elections.
"It is my position that these registrants have not satisfied Arizona's documented proof of citizenship law," he wrote on X, "and therefore can only vote a 'FED ONLY' ballot."
"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," he continued. "That is why we are going to the courts. To get a clear answer."
On September 20, the Arizona Supreme Court unanimously decided to allow the impacted residents to vote a full ballot, Blaze News previously reported.
However, as the days passed, the Secretary of State's Office discovered additional registered voters without proof of citizenship who had slipped through the cracks.
On September 30, the Secretary of State's Office issued a press release stating that the previously reported 97,000 impacted voters was closer to approximately 218,000. It noted that the court's decision still stands.
"This data set includes approximately 79,000 Republicans, 61,000 Democrats, and 76,000 Other Party (OTH), bringing the total of impacted individuals to approximately 218,000," the office said.
The Secretary of State's Office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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This week, Arizona officials announced that nearly 100,000 registered voters may not be able to vote in state and local elections this November after they may not have provided proof of U.S. citizenship as required by state law.
The apparent "flaw" in the voter registration process in Arizona was discovered last week, Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer said in lengthy X post on Tuesday, even though it had been around for decades.
'In all likelihood, they almost all [are] U.S. Citizens. But they have NOT provided documented proof of citizenship.'
The issue involves a complicated nexus of state and federal law and rules governing an Arizona driver's license.
Arizona has a unique system by which prospective voters in federal elections may register using a federal form that does not require documented proof of citizenship. Documentation is required, however, for those casting ballots in state and local elections.
Since 1996, those wishing to obtain a standard Arizona driver's license have had to show proof of U.S. citizenship. Green-card holders are given an alternate license.
Thus, everyone who has registered to vote in Arizona using a state driver's license since 1996 has been presumed to be a U.S. citizen and therefore eligible to vote in all federal, state, and local elections since they would have had to furnish the necessary documentation when they applied for a driver's license.
Beginning in 2004 though, the Motor Vehicle Division changed rules so that those applying for a renewal or replacement license had an updated issue date stamped on it.
This system allowed one group of registered voters to, in Richer's words, fall "through the cracks" regarding proof of citizenship. This group of about 97,000 individuals from across the state received a driver's license before 1996 but received a replacement license sometime after 2004 and then used that updated license to register to vote.
"All of these people have attested under penalty of law that they are U.S. citizens," Richer explained. "And, in all likelihood, they almost all [are] U.S. Citizens. But they have NOT provided documented proof of citizenship."
According to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, the affected voters are likely between the ages of 45 and 60 and lean Republican.
With the November election fast approaching and military ballots going out later this week, Richer, a Republican, is filing a "friendly" lawsuit against Fontes, a Democrat, in hopes that the state supreme court will provide clarity on the issue — and soon.
"It is my position that these registrants have not satisfied Arizona's documented proof of citizenship law, and therefore can only vote a 'FED ONLY' ballot [in 2024]," Richer said.
Fontes believes that the issue cannot possibly be resolved fairly in such a truncated timeframe and would therefore prevent many otherwise lawful U.S. citizens from participating in state and local elections. "We do not want to see this happen," he said. "We are advocating for status quo."
The news comes on the heels of lawsuits filed against all 15 Arizona counties by America First Legal, a group with strong ties to former President Donald Trump. As Blaze News previously reported, the lawsuit, filed September 4, accused the counties and their respective recorders of failing to purge foreign nationals from their voter rolls in defiance of state law.
"We are taking emergency action to secure our elections," former Trump adviser and current AFL president Stephen Miller told Blaze News in a previous statement. "... America First Legal will do everything in its power to fight mass illegal alien voting and foreign interference in our democracy."
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The America First Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit on Monday against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R), arguing that the Arizona county has failed to purge illegal immigrants from its voter rolls.
A copy of the lawsuit, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, claimed that Richer and his office have “ignored” maintenance requirements for county recorders. It noted that in 2022, the state lawmakers adopted “stricter voter list” requirements to ensure the removal of foreign citizens. The adopted laws require monthly reviews of local voter rolls and comparisons with federal databases to verify citizenship status.
“[Richer] has failed to take the actions required by law to ensure that foreign citizens are removed from Maricopa County’s voter rolls,” the lawsuit read.
Founder of AFL and former senior advisor to President Donald Trump Stephen Miller told the DCNF, “America First Legal is leading the charge to keep illegal aliens from voting in 2024.”
“Maricopa County, in direct violation of state law, is refusing to remove illegal alien voters from the rolls,” Miller stated. “We are taking decisive action: suing Maricopa County for unlawfully permitting illegal aliens and foreign citizens to interfere in the 2024 election.”
A recent Rasmussen Reports survey, noted in AFL’s lawsuit, found that slightly more than 1% of likely voters in battleground states, including Arizona, admitted they are not citizens.
AFL previously sent demand letters to all Arizona counties, including Maricopa County, requesting the clean up of voter rolls. According to AFL, Richer’s attorney responded to the letter stating that his office would not be taking any further action, claiming it was already verifying voters’ citizenship status.
However, a July press release from the AFL contended that more than 35,000 registered voters in Arizona never provided proof of citizenship. The group noted that roughly 10,000 votes decided the 2020 presidential election in Arizona.
According to the New York Post, Arizona is one of at least 46 states that does not require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Those seeking to register must only check a box claiming they are citizens. Proof of citizenship is required to vote in state or local elections in Arizona.
James Rogers, AFL legal senior counsel, told DCNF, “How can Arizonans have confidence in the integrity of their State’s elections when the government officials in charge of administering that election are not even following the law?”
“It is reasonable for Arizonans to be concerned,” Rogers added. “This lawsuit is about helping to restore the public’s trust by making sure that election officials follow the law and that foreigners are not able to influence the outcome of our elections.”
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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Voters in Arizona’s largest county are on track to elect a staunch conservative to replace the locality’s leftist-friendly elections chief. On Wednesday, Democrat Tim Stringham announced that he had called Republican Justin Heap to effectively concede defeat in the race to become Maricopa County’s next recorder. Heap, a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, confirmed […]
On Friday a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a conservative group and an Arizona resident that sought to force election officials to ensure noncitizens aren’t registering to vote in the state. Writing on behalf of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Judge Krissa Lanham, a Biden appointee, ruled that Strong […]
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer turned to leftist groups to guide his staff on targeting speech not approved by the government.
Adrian Fontes and GOPers are asking Arizona's high court to address a state error putting 100K voters' registration statuses in jeopardy.
Maricopa County's election chief is refusing to undertake required voter list maintenance procedures, a new lawsuit alleges.
Maricopa County voters ousted Recorder Stephen Richer during Arizona's Republican primary election on Tuesday.
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