In 2022, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club crafted the blueprint to stop illegals from voting in our elections, authoring landmark legislation that was signed into law, becoming the first state in the nation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote with HB2492. Now, states around the country are taking notice and adopting our model, and just last week President Trump signed an Executive Order to do it nationally. Arizona was just the tip of the spear, and the dominoes are finally beginning to fall.
As of this week, two states require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Arizona was the first with HB2492. Earlier this year, Wyoming became the second. And now, the Texas Senate is considering a bill that is nearly identical to the Arizona Model, which would make them the third.
Arizona has long been at the forefront of this issue. In 2004, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved Prop 200 to require proof of citizenship to vote. After nearly a decade of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed us to only implement the requirement on our own voter registration form but prevented us from requiring it on the federal form. The result over the decade following the decision was the complete proliferation of the “Federal Only Voting” list, amounting to tens of thousands of potential noncitizens registering and voting in our elections…
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Friday that nearly 98,000 Maricopa County voters whose citizenship documents got caught up in a coding error will be allowed to vote full ballot in November. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer had moved to have them relegated to voting ‘Fed Only’ in November.
The court received several amicus briefs from voters and organizations across the political spectrum arguing against the move, including the Arizona Republican Party; the League of Women Voters of Arizona; Coconino County Recorder Patty Hansen and Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly; as well as the Carlos Apache Tribe, Living United for Change in Arizona, League of United Latin American Citizens of Arizona, Mi Familia Vota, and the ACLU of Arizona.
The Republican Party of Arizona (AZGOP) filed an amicus brief Thursday calling upon the court to intervene and prevent the removal of 98,000 voters from the rolls whose registrations were potentially endangered by a controversial clerical error by state officials.
On Tuesday, Arizona’s Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes announced that 97,000 inividuals would be impacted by an error that could prevent them from voting in state-level elections such as state legislative races, initiatives, and referenda. The error affects voters who were issued an Arizona driver’s license prior to October 1, 1996. The figure represents over 2.5% of the state’s total registered electorate. The outlet noted that a technical issue reportedly caused the error which has been resolved, however, the status of those affected is unclear.
In a statement published Thursday the AZGOP announced:
“Today, the Republican Party of Arizona filed an amicus brief in the Arizona Supreme Court supporting the preservation of voter rights in the case involving nearly 100,000 voters whose registration statuses were jeopardized by a state government clerical error.
The AZGOP urges the court to protect voters from sudden disenfranchisement and argues that the requested relief from Petitioner Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer violates both state and federal law.
The AZGOP’s amicus brief notes the importance of adhering to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which prohibits systematic voter removals within 90 days of a federal election, and argues that the removal of voters based on this clerical error violates due process and the U.S. Constitution. The AZGOP maintains that any action taken to correct these registration issues should not result in the disenfranchisement of voters who have long participated in Arizona’s elections without issue.”
Gina Swoboda, AZGOP Chair said in a statement:
“Regardless of any outcome on this matter, all of these voters will receive a Federal Only ballot which permits them to vote for President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. Congress. The only question before us is if these voters, who have possessed an Arizona driver’s license since before October 1996, should be denied the right to vote for their representatives in the Arizona legislature, county, school board, and ballot measure contests.
Our brief makes it clear: nearly 100,000 Arizona voters should not be penalized for a mistake made by the government. We will not stand by as voters are disenfranchised, especially so close to an election. The law requires that any changes to voter registration or eligibility must be handled carefully and in accordance with federal and state law. Rushing to disenfranchise voters now would not only be illegal but would severely undermine confidence in our elections.”
In a lengthy post to X, Richer justified his lawsuit saying:
“My office discovered this issue last week, and we have been working with the Governor’s Office, the Secretary’s Office, the MVD, and the Attorney General to fix this moving forward. The number is about 97,000 registrants across the state. All of these people have attested under penalty of law that they are U.S. citizens. And, in all likelihood, they almost all U.S. Citizens. But they have NOT provided documented proof of citizenship. Moving forward (2025 onward), everyone agrees we need DPOC for those voters for them to vote a full ballot. But the Secretary and I have different opinions on what the law requires for the November 5, 2024 General Election. 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.”
Later today, my office (@RecordersOffice) is suing the Secretary's office (@AZSecretary) regarding how to handle certain voters who need to provide documented proof of citizenship.
Since 2004, Arizona has been the only state in the country to require that a voter provide…
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) September 17, 2024
In the text of the amicus brief, the AZGOP argues that the declaratory judgment requested by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer would stand in violation of both the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Arizona’s Free and Equal Elections Clause, as well as the National Voter Registration Act. The party’s legal team explained, “It is difficult to imagine state action that would impose a more ‘severe’ burden on the right to vote than abruptly informing an individual who has lived and voted in Arizona for decades—and previously voted in all elections, state and federal—that they must suddenly prove that they are a U.S. citizen in the handful of days remaining before Arizona’s October 7 voter registration deadline if they want to vote in state elections this year.”
BREAKING, VICTORY: AZ Supreme Court REFUSES to Order Recorders To Move 98,000 Long-time Arizonans To Fed-Only List Weeks Before Ballots Hit the Mail
Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer writing for the majority ruled:
“In sum, Richer has not established that the county recorders have statutory authority to remove the Affected Voters from being able to vote in the upcoming 2024 General Election for federal offices and with respect to matters on an Arizona ballot. This is particularly true under the present facts, where a state administrative failure permitted the Affected Voters to be registered without confirming that they provided DPOC when they received their driver’s licenses and where there is so little time remaining before the beginning of the 2024 General Election.”
She continued, “Arizona law provides that ‘[w]hen the county recorder obtains information pursuant to this section and confirms that the person registered is not a United States citizen,’ the county recorder is to initiate a process to cancel a registration that includes sending the person notice that the person’s registration will be canceled in thirty-five days unless the person provides satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship. A.R.S. § 16-165(A)(10). Although challenges are pending to various aspects of the statute, subsection (A)(10) recognizes the right of any voter to notice and an opportunity to contest any determination of a voter’s ineligibility. A county recorder can therefore proceed with respect to individual voters under § 16-165(A)(10) as long as the provision’s due process requirements are followed… Regardless, we are unwilling on these facts to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state contests. Doing so is not authorized by state law and would violate principles of due process.”
This should be especially alarming since the number of voters who haven’t provided proof of citizenship and cannot be confirmed as citizens has increased by over 32% since last October in Maricopa County. Arizona law requires that voter registrants must provide documentary proof of citizenship. However, these federal-only voters are allowed to register to vote in federal races because a Supreme Court decision from 2013 held that federal law does not allow states to ask for documentary proof of citizenship in federal races such as for Congress and the U.S. Senate. And that may even extend for presidential electors (the issue being litigated right now). For federal races, voters only need to attest to being a citizen by checking a box on the federal voter registration form and signing the form. Only a little over 10,000 votes determined the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election in Arizona, yet over 26,000 federal-only voters are currently registered to vote in Maricopa County.
The AFL letter went to all 15 Arizona County Recorders as a reminder of their obligation “to remove foreign citizens” from their voter rolls. It outlines additional tools the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has available, as codified by Congress under 8 U.S.C. § 1373 and 8 U.S.C. § 1644, to assist county recorders in their legal obligations to ensure only U.S. citizens are registered to vote.
According to the letter, Arizona law requires recorders “to consult ‘relevant federal databases to which the county recorder has access to confirm information obtained that requires cancellation of registrations,’” per A.R.S. § 16-165(K).
While it’s a state and federal crime for foreign nationals to register to vote, just making something illegal doesn’t prevent bad actors from breaking the law like other crimes. In fact, under the Trump administration, ICE indicted 19 foreign nationals for voting in the 2016 election illegally.
Since Arizona is a border state, why wouldn’t county recorders in Arizona want to make sure they are utilizing every possible tool to prevent foreign nationals from accessing a ballot in our election? And what more can they do to protect our voting rights and ensure citizens’ votes aren’t effectively neutralized by a foreign national illegally casting a ballot?
AFL brilliantly provides a path by using federal statutes, 8 U.S.C. § 1373 and 8 U.S.C. § 1644, that require DHS to provide the information. It isn’t hard for DHS to get this information through its Person Centric Query System (PCQS) database. As the letter explains:
“[The PCQS database] allows agency employees to look up individuals and quickly and easily verify their citizenship status using only a name and date of birth. This means that, right now, DHS can answer all of your inquiries about the citizenship status of all presently registered voters and all persons attempting to register to vote and do so at no cost. You already have the authority to submit citizenship inquiries about registered voters to DHS, and you can demand immediate responses from DHS.”
There is no additional cost to the taxpayers, and we can protect the voters! Where is the “Sign My County Recorder Up” button for doing his or her job?
There’s another level of required scrutiny that’s also not happening in Arizona, and that’s where the Attorney General comes into play. AFL states that per state law, county recorders are “required to send ‘to the attorney general a list of all individuals who are registered to vote and who have not provided satisfactory evidence of citizenship’” so that the Attorney General may fulfill her obligation “to use all available resources to verify the citizenship status of the applicant[s].’”
Don’t hold your breath that this will happen under the current Maricopa County Recorder regime anytime soon! Stephen Richer’s attorneys replied to AFL’s letter, refusing to take any action.
When asked, he usually shrugs off the concern about foreign nationals on the voter rolls, arguing that federal-only voters are concentrated on college campuses, as if that somehow makes it OK. He’s even gotten to the point of challenging Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk for questioning any voter in Arizona not needing to provide proof of citizenship to vote:
BLUF: Arizona had a documented proof of citizenship law for all voters, but that was invalidated by US Supreme Court in 2012 (Arizona v. ITCA) because it conflicted with federal law. Therefore only applies to state voters.
Longer:
We've done this before a few times… But…
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) July 8, 2024
He also says federal-only voters have lower turnout than average voters, so there is nothing to worry about….
Hi. This is the correct in terms of the fed only voters who participated in the 2020 GE in Maricopa County.
Few points looking at above:
1) It is ILLEGAL to vote in federal elections in all 50 states if you are not a U.S. Citizen. These names are public records. In Arizona,…
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) April 16, 2024
Except the public doesn’t know how many federal-only voters cast ballots, as the number is not reported in the official statewide canvass by the Arizona Secretary of State.
While the current Maricopa County Recorder has published in his campaign communications that he thinks documented proof of citizenship should be required to vote in federal elections, adding that it’s not “an undue burden,” he stated that it’s the job of Congress to change the law.
Hi Stacey!
Great question. Yes, we do count "Fed only" ballots. As does every county in Arizona. Because it is required by federal law.
Hope it helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
Stephen
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) June 18, 2024
This is true. That would certainly help!
In the same campaign email, he stated that he supports Speaker Johnson’s proposal, the SAVE Act, which would require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote for federal elections. Still, he’s never come out on his award-winning X account to support the SAVE Act or Speaker Mike Johnson’s bold support of this game-changing legislation to secure our elections.
Here’s my friendly reminder that this is the same Recorder who was accused of using public resources to advocate against additional security measures for voting by mail. So, he’s certainly not averse to going out of bounds when fighting for or against a policy he favors.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “I have always had a horror of words that are not translated into deeds, of speech that does not result in action.”
The Maricopa County Recorder’s latest rebuff of AFL’s letter to take steps that clearly aren’t an undue burden on his office to keep the voter rolls clean, his lack of transparency on the issue of federal-only voters’ voting habits, his constant diminishing of concerns from the public, and his lack of public support for the SAVE Act certainly screams the loudest when it comes to where he truly stands on the issue.
If only there were someone who could provide a Diet Coke explainer video to show the current Recorder why Maricopa County citizens deserve election administration in which every possible effort is made to prohibit foreign nationals from accessing a ballot to cast a vote in our elections, maybe we would have a better chance at that “Sign My County Recorder Up” button functioning in Maricopa County.
Photo from the Maricopa County Recorder video published on X here.
Merissa Hamilton is the founder and chairwoman of the nonpartisan nonprofit organizations Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Strong Communities Action, also known as EZAZ.org, which are focused on making civic education and action as easy as pie. She’s an elected Member at Large of Congressional District 1 for the Arizona Republican Party and previously ran for Mayor in 2020. Merissa is also the Director of Integration and Policy at The R.O.A.R. PAC, which is on the mission of restoring our American Republic.
If Adrian Fontes likes spending time in court, he’s going to have a fun time in 2024. In case you’ve lost count, Arizona’s Secretary of State has been sued three times over his Elections Procedures Manual (EPM) in just the last two weeks. That’s what happens when you produce one of the most radical EPMs in Arizona’s history.
At the end of January, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma filed a lawsuit against Fontes over a variety of provisions in his EPM that violate or conflict with current election laws in our state. But the party was just getting started.
Last week, the Arizona Republican Party, the Republican National Committee, and the Yavapai County GOP also sued Fontes for his blatant attempt to rewrite election law through his EPM. And on the same day, we filed our own lawsuit against Fontes over the promulgation of certain unlawful rules set forth in his EPM.
The reality is that, in his role as Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes is supposed to provide an EPM that gives impartial direction to county recorders to ensure uniform and correct implementation of election law. Instead, he prescribed certain rules without the power to do so and moved forward with an EPM that contains several “rules” that are unconstitutional.
A new bill proposes that Arizonans registering to vote must provide proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections and receive early ballots by mail. Federal-only voters aren’t required to provide proof of their citizenship to vote for the president, though they must for state, county, and local elections.
The bill makes an exception for military and overseas voters within the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
In the 2020 election, Arizona had over 11,600 federal-only ballots cast: nearly 1,150 more votes than President Joe Biden’s margin that won the state.
The bill also laid out a method for verifying citizenship with the submission of a federal form. Within ten days after receiving the form, election officials must utilize their available resources to verify citizenship as well as search the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) databases, Social Security Administration (SSA) databases, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program, National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS) Electronic Verification of Vital Events (EVVE) system, and any other state, city, town, county, or federal databases relating to voter registration. Throughout the entire process, elections officials must record their efforts to verify citizenship.
If election officials discover definitive proof that the applicant isn’t a citizen, then they must reject the application and notify the county attorney and attorney general for further investigation. The bill would also require election officials to notify applicants if they are unable to locate confirmation of citizenship, providing applicants 30 days to respond with proof of citizenship. Election officials may not reject an application if the applicant doesn’t provide proof of citizenship within that time frame — at that point, the applicant would only be eligible to vote in federal elections.
Election officials that don’t attempt to verify citizenship when no proof of citizenship is provided would be guilty of a class six felony.
Those who introduced the bill were State Representatives Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), Walt Blackman (R-Snowflake), Neal Carter (R-San Tan Valley), Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale), John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction), Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix), Teresa Martinez (R-Oro Valley), Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott), Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa), Ben Toma (R-Peoria), Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix).
The bill also proposes other requirements to strengthen voter registration, such as providing proof of residential address and a checkmark specifically next to a detailed question regarding citizenship.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
