Last Friday, the AZ Free Enterprise Club filed a lawsuit in federal court against Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for failing to comply with the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA) mandate that he maintain accurate and updated voter registration records. Why? The data shows that there are 500,000 unaccounted for registered voters who are not qualified either due to death or moving out of the state, and in total, up to more than a million voters on the rolls who should not be registered.
Clean and accurate voter rolls are the bedrock of elections run with integrity. Ensuring only those eligible to vote may register and are on the rolls means that only eligible voters may vote in an election. It’s a basic principle: garbage in, garbage out. If we begin with bad data – ineligible individuals on the rolls – the system is susceptible to allowing ineligible ballots to be cast.
That’s why in 2022 we championed two landmark pieces of legislation to accomplish just that, and why, unsurprisingly, Marc Elias and the left’s lawfare machine immediately sued to stop these commonsense safeguards from going into effect. HB2492 ensures only eligible citizens who have provided proof of citizenship can register to vote and HB2243 requires regular and routine voter roll maintenance using several databases of information, with regular reports to the legislature of the results.
Both these laws are consistent with the NVRA’s mandate that states maintain accurate voter registration lists. But right now, Adrian Fontes is failing in his obligations under both, and that’s why we have filed a lawsuit in federal court to force him to do his job.
Four Counties Have More Registered Voters Than People
How do we know? According to the most recent census and voter registration data, more than 90% of the voting age population in Arizona is purportedly registered to vote. The national average is 69.1%. Why would Arizonans register to vote at an absurdly higher rate than the rest of the country? The only answer is that the state and counties are failing to adequately remove individuals who are no longer eligible, leading to bloated rolls…
After failing to comply with an August 2023 legal demand that his office properly update the alleged dirty voter rolls of 14 Arizona counties, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is now the target of a lawsuit from Arizona Free Enterprise Club President Scot Mussi, and former gubernatorial candidate Steve Gaynor, in their capacities as voters as well as Arizona GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda in her official capacity.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Attorneys Jason B. Torchinsky, Dallin B. Holt, and Brennan A.R. Bowen representing Mussi sent a pre-litigation letter to Fontes on August 8, 2023. In the statutory notice they informed Fontes of their allegations that these counties are in violation of Section 8 of the National Voting Rights Act.
Arizona’s current and former Secretaries of State have failed to perform the necessary voter list maintenance. Now, 14 counties are in violation of the NVRA. Something must be done. https://t.co/EYgawkK2h0
The legal team cited Census Bureau Data showing that four counties in the state have reported having a larger total of registered voters than citizens over the age of 18. Those counties in particular were Apache County with a startling 117.4%, Santa Cruz County with 112.6%, La Paz County with 100.5%, and Navajo County with 100.1%. The outlying counties possessing much smaller populations when compared to Maricopa and Pima Counties, home to Phoenix and Tucson respectively, only serve to amplify the statistical abnormalities. In addition, the team identified nine other counties with voter registration rates in excess of 90% of voting aged adults with another in excess of 80%.
Registration rates for all 14 counties far eclipse the voter registration rate recorded nationwide in previous elections, noted in the complaint as being 69.1% determined by reviewing the Current Population Survey (“CPS”) data from the U.S. Census Bureau and comparing estimates of registered voters who are actually eligible to be registered. Arizona’s rate is noted as 69.9%
The attorneys explained, “This evidence shows that these counties are not conducting appropriate list maintenance to ensure that the voter registration roll is accurate and current, as required by federal law.”
In the text of the complaint the attorneys noted, “These rates are implausibly high,” adding “The data made public by the Secretary show that Arizona counties have actual registration rates that exceed the expected registration rates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and evidence a high rate of likely ineligible voter names on the official lists of eligible voters.”
Applying more concrete numbers to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that “Based on even the most conservative data sources, Arizona has at least 500,000 registered voters on the voter rolls who should have otherwise been removed.” They summarized in the complaint, “In other words, at least 500,000 registered voters currently listed on the Secretary’s voter rolls for Arizona are deceased or no longer reside in Arizona.”
In a statement to AZ Free News, The Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Deputy Director of Policy Gregory Blackie said:
“Last year, the Free Enterprise Club sent a pre-litigation NVRA notice to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes highlighting artificially high voter registration rates compared to the most recent US census data. Since then, four Arizona counties continue to have more registered voters than residents of voting age population and the other eleven have rates far exceeding the national average. Ensuring only those eligible to vote are registered is the starting point for conducting elections with integrity. We hope the courts will make sure Fontes complies with the NVRA mandate that he maintain up-to-date and accurate voter registration lists by removing those who are not eligible.”
Mussi, Gaynor, and Swoboda are seeking a declaratory judgement that Fontes has violated Section 8 of the NVRA and that the court issue injunctions “requiring the Secretary to fully comply with any existing procedures that Arizona has in place to ensure ineligible voters are identified and removed from the rolls,” and “develop and implement additional reasonable and effective registration list-maintenance programs to cure their failure to comply with Section 8 of the NVRA and to ensure that ineligible registrants are not on the voter rolls.” The plaintiffs are also seeking that Fontes’ office assume the legal costs and attorneys fees as well.
AZ Free News reached out to Fontes’ office for comment and were informed by Deputy Communications Director JP Martin that “unfortunately the office doesn’t speculate on legal matters in this way.”
A strong economy is a key piece of the foundation for any society. But while the Biden administration has been busy doing anything it can to destroy the economic climate in America over the past four years, Arizona is set up for success—not just for today, but for decades to come.
Last month, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released its latest “Rich States, Poor States” report, and the Grand Canyon State received the number three ranking for economic outlook among all 50 states. Such a high rank is impressive enough on its own, but when you consider that our state was ranked 13 back in 2021, Arizona’s dramatic rise up the chart especially shines. So, how did we get here?
Pro-Growth Policies Have Led the Way
Arizona’s high ranking is a direct result of significant pro-growth income and property tax reform that have supercharged our economy. In just the last decade, we have cut taxes on capital gains and drastically reduced the property tax burden on small businesses. Then, in July 2021, the Free Enterprise Club helped lead the charge as the Republican-led legislature passed a 2.5% flat tax, delivering historic tax cuts for every single Arizona taxpayer. And if that wasn’t enough, Republicans also included tax relief for Arizona’s families in last year’s state budget to help with the growing cost of gas, groceries, housing, and energy under the Biden administration.
Each of these pro-growth policies have set up Arizona as a leader in the country with many other states looking to mirror these reforms, but if the left had gotten its way, we never would have been here.
Arizona is the state with the third best economic climate, according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
“Arizona’s high ranking is a direct result of significant pro-growth income and property tax reform that has supercharged our economy,” President of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club Scot Mussi told AZ Free News. “In the last decade we have slashed our income tax rates in half, cut taxes on capital gains, and significantly reduced the property tax burden on small businesses.”
Utah and Idaho surpassed the Grand Canyon state for best economic climates. New York, Vermont, and Illinois placed in the bottom three.
Arizona has moved up from 13th place in 2021 to third in 2024. Arizona’s population increased by 115,900 from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, estimates from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity show. This translated into 1.6% growth, much faster than the U.S. at 0.5%.
Arizona ranks third for tax expenditure limits, first for being a right-to-work state with the option to join or support a union, first for estate/inheritance tax levied, and first for remaining tax burden.
It also ranked second for public employees per 10,000 of population and eighth for average worker compensation cost.
Mussi said Arizona is on track to continue its route of economic growth.
“As long as we keep these reforms in place, Arizona will remain a destination for both families and entrepreneurs,” he said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
It is no secret that an overwhelming number of Americans believe that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote in our elections. It arguably is and ought to be the first and primary qualification to vote. But what good is that requirement if it isn’t verified? In other words, without proof of citizenship, we are relying on a simple stroke of a pen or pencil on a registration form, checking a small box attesting to citizenship.
That’s why in 2004 Arizona voters approved a measure to require proof of citizenship before registering to vote. But, in the 20 years since, that requirement has been whittled away and now there are tens of thousands of people voting in Arizona elections (often referred to as “Federal only” voters) without ever having provided evidence of their citizenship.
In response to this explosion of ‘Federal Only’ voters, the Arizona legislature passed two landmark bills, HB2492 and HB2243, to require proof of citizenship and regular, enhanced voter roll maintenance to ensure only eligible individuals are registering and voting in our elections.
What happened next shouldn’t surprise anyone that has watched the left fight every reasonable voter integrity measure around the country. As soon as both bills were signed into law, a dozen liberal organizations and the Biden Justice Department sued in federal court, claiming that the measures were unconstitutional, illegal, and (of course) racist.
The case was given to Bill Clinton appointed judge Susan Bolton, and after a year of litigation, she issued a confusing, disjointed two-part ruling that is destined for appeal. And while a few positives can be gleaned from the decision, the bad and ugly from the liberal opinion far outweighed the good…
