By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona lawmakers are holding the state’s top election official accountable for his failure to be transparent with the public over a growing database error.
Earlier this month, a coalition of Republican legislators issued a statement “on Secretary [Adrian] Fontes’ failure to accurately report MVD database errors impacting thousands of Arizona voters.”
The statement followed an additional revelation from Fontes that there were 120,000 more Arizona voters who were in the database error universe, increasing the total count to approximately 218,000 of these individuals.
According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, “The recent addition of approximately 118,000 people to the list of impacted registrants (originally thought to be approximately 98,000) was a result of including renewed and reinstated licenses in the MVD data pull of registrants that state officials now know may not have shown documentation sufficient to meet voter registration requirements.” Fontes said, “All of the Arizonans affected by this issue remain eligible voters and are long-time Arizona residents. All have attested under penalty of perjury – the same standard the rest of the country uses – that they are U.S. citizens.”
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office asserted that it would “soon be able to accurately communicate with affected voters and provide clear next steps to resolve any issues pertaining to DPOC (documented proof of citizenship) needs, but this will not happen prior to the 2024 election.”
However, the coalition of Republican legislators were not satisfied with Fontes’ assurances. They wrote, “We will continue to monitor Secretary Fontes’ administration of this election and all litigation surrounding the MVD database / citizenship issues. As Republican members of the Arizona House of Representatives, we remain committed to exercising appropriate oversight during and after the election to ensure that elected officials in our Executive Branch are complying with Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship laws.”
They added, “It goes without saying that requiring proof of citizenship to vote is of paramount importance. Earlier this year, House Speaker Ben Toma and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen – without support from Attorney General Mayes – fought in the Mi Familia case all the way to the United States Supreme Court to vindicate A.R.S. 16-121.01(C), which requires proof of citizenship for individuals to receive and vote a full ballot. Nonetheless, it is just as important that our election officials implement Arizona’s election laws in a manner that does not violate Arizonans’ rights to notice and due process.”
Signing the statement were Arizona State Representatives Ben Toma, David Marshall Sr, Leo Biasiucci, Travis Grantham, Michael Carbone, Joseph Chaplik, Lupe Diaz, Tim Dunn, John Gillette, Gail Griffin, Justin Heap, Alexander Kolodin, Quang Nguyen, Barbara Parker, Jacqueline Parker, Kevin Payne, Selina Bliss, and Michele Peña.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
