By Matthew Holloway |
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap announced Friday that his office restored 24 voters to active status after a court reviewed citizenship documentation during mediation. The move resolves a dispute with Attorney General Kris Mayes over the voters’ eligibility to vote in the Nov. 3 general election.
Heap’s office said in a press release that ballots had been issued to the affected voters on the Active Early Voting List, and Mayes had agreed to dismiss her complaint.
According to the recorder’s office, the Attorney General’s Office presented citizenship documentation to the court during mediation. The court reviewed the records and issued a minute entry affirming their sufficiency, which Heap’s office said supplied the verification needed to restore the voters.
“This entire dispute could have been resolved weeks ago with the very verification ultimately presented to the Court,” Heap said. “Our position never changed. We needed legally sufficient documentation of citizenship, we received it, and we immediately restored the voters.”
Heap thanked Judge Christopher T. Whitten for resolving the matter and obtaining verification that the recorder said his office had sought from Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s office for four weeks.
Mayes also announced the resolution Friday, attributing the restoration of voting eligibility to her office’s legal action.
“It should not have taken litigation to make Justin Heap follow the law,” Mayes said.
The complaint, filed Oct. 21 by Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, originally identified 25 voters whose registrations remained designated “Not Eligible” after state and county investigators determined they were U.S. citizens.
At a hearing on Friday before the mediation, Heap’s attorney, James Rogers of America First Legal, said one of those voters had already supplied proof of citizenship and been restored, leaving 24 at issue. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Adele Ponce arranged settlement discussions that afternoon.
The dispute centered on the documentation required to restore the voters and whether Heap had authority to place their registrations in an ineligible category.
Heap said Arizona motor vehicle records identified the individuals as noncitizens and federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) records could not confirm their citizenship. His office referred the cases to prosecutors and placed the registrations in what he described as “Pending DPOC” status while requesting documentary proof of citizenship.
Heap maintained that his office needed legally sufficient verification before restoring full-ballot eligibility. He cited A.R.S. § 16-166, which identifies acceptable citizenship evidence and requires the recorder to indicate in a voter’s permanent file when satisfactory evidence has been submitted.
Mayes and Fontes argued in their complaint that Heap lacked affirmative evidence that the affected voters were noncitizens and had improperly restricted their voting eligibility.
According to the complaint, the individuals were among 207 registered voters referred for investigation. Investigators examined 60 who had previously cast ballots and determined that 52 were citizens and eight were noncitizens. The complaint said Heap had restored 27 of the 52 citizens to active status before the lawsuit was filed.
The plaintiffs sought restoration of the remaining voters’ previous registration status and delivery of early ballots to 17 participants in the Active Early Voting List and one military or overseas voter.
During Friday’s hearing, Assistant Attorney General Kara Karlson said her office was willing to provide citizenship information. She disputed Heap’s account of requests for the records and maintained that the voters should not have been placed in an ineligible status.
Mitchell had also challenged Heap’s handling of the registrations. She denied that her office had advised him to cancel the voters’ registrations and said state law did not authorize a suspended category under the circumstances.
“We are now in a place where there is no reason to question the citizenship of 52 voters. And there certainly is no confirmation that they are not citizens – quite the contrary – they are American citizens,” Mitchell wrote. “The law demands that they be allowed to vote.”
A.R.S. § 16-165(A)(10) requires a recorder to confirm that a registered voter is not a U.S. citizen before initiating its notice-and-cancellation process. The provision gives the voter 35 days to supply satisfactory citizenship evidence before cancellation and referral to prosecutors.
Heap’s Friday evening announcement said all 24 remaining voters had been restored following the court’s review.
“Our office fulfilled its duty to protect eligible voters while upholding Arizona law,” he said.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
