The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents could not be confirmed will be allowed to vote.
The case emerged after the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office uncovered a database error that for two decades mistakenly designated over 90,000 voters as having access to the full ballot. The error is connected with a state law that requires voters to provide documented proof of citizenship
Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County recorder, had disagreed on what status the voters fall under.
Richer asked the high court to weigh in, claiming Fontes ignored state law by advising county officials to allow the affected voters to cast full ballots.
From TIME:
Richer asked the high court to weigh in, saying Fontes ignored state law by advising county officials to let affected voters cast full ballots.
Fontes said not allowing the voters who believed they had satisfied voting requirements access to the full ballot would raise equal protection and due process concerns.
The high court, which leans Republican, agreed with Fontes. It said county officials lack the authority to change the voters’ statuses because those voters registered long ago and had attested under the penalty of law that they are citizens. The justices also said the voters were not at fault for the database error and also mentioned the little time that’s left before the Nov. 5 general election.
“We are unwilling on these facts to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state contests,” Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer wrote in the ruling.
Most of the nearly 98,000 affected voters reside in Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix.
The database error that led to this case has since been addressed, according to reports.
“Arizona considers drivers’ licenses issued after October 1996 to be valid proof of citizenship. However, a system coding error marked nearly 98,000 voters who obtained licenses before 1996 — roughly 2.5% of all registered voters — as full-ballot voters, state officials said,” TIME reported. “The error between the state’s voter registration database and the Motor Vehicle Division has since been resolved.”
Though Richer and Fontes disagreed over the status of the voters, but celebrated the court’s ruing.
“AZ Supreme Court ruled for defendant (Fontes). The 100k registrants will continue to vote a full ballot this election. Thank God,” Richer said on X Saturday. “Thank you Arizona Supreme Court for your extremely quick and professional review of this matter.”
AZ Supreme Court ruled for defendant (Fontes). The 100k registrants will continue to vote a full ballot this election.
— Stephen Richer—MaricopaCountyRecorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) September 21, 2024
Thank God.
Thank you Arizona Supreme Court for your extremely quick and professional review of this matter.
Thank you @Adrian_Fontes, @AZSecretary for…
Fontes in a news release also called the ruling a “significant victory for those whose fundamental right to vote was under scrutiny.”
Arizona passed a law in March requiring voters to prove their citizenship to participate in local and state races, but the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that voters who registered without that proof can still vote in presidential and congressional elections with a different federal form.
That form requires them to swear they are citizens under penalty of perjury.