Nearly 100,000 Arizona voters failed to provide proof of citizenship, could be struck from 'full ballot' rolls

Arizona has a problem with people who don’t have the necessary proof of citizenship but vote on the “full ballot,” not just the “federal ballot” during election season. This system was recently affirmed in a Supreme Court decision.

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office stated it has discovered about 97,000 registrants affected by this "administrative error” that has allowed them to vote in municipal and state elections as well as federal elections for decades, ABC15 reported.

Since Dec. 8, 2004, Arizona registrants need to provide a recognized ID issued after Oct. 1, 1996, to vote in all elections. Those who did not provide such documentation could only receive federal ballots to vote for president, senators, and representatives. But scores of voters received a “duplicate” of a driver’s license that was initially issued prior to Oct. 1, 1996, which the system read as being issued after that date. Because of this administrative mix-up, these individuals received the full ballot.

Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder, explained in a post on X: “If a driver received a license prior to 1996, he did not have a documented proof of citizenship on file. But then, if he got a duplicate license (e.g. in the case of losing a license), the issuance date would be updated in the statewide voter registration's interface with MVD [Motor Vehicle Division].”

“Then, if that person went to register, when the counties went to confirm if the person has documented proof of citizenship, the interface between the statewide voter registration system and MVD would yield a date after 1996 and therefore say that the voter had documented proof of citizenship on file with the MVD. An MVD and ‘AVID system’ administrative issue reportedly involved duplicate licenses and their issuance dates," he continued.

“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," Richter added. "The Secretary argues that it is too close to the election to implement such a change and that it would be unduly burdensome on voters and deprive them of their voting rights. That is why we are going to the courts. To get a clear answer.”

ABC15 cited Arizona Clean Elections to clarify the difference between the two ballots: “A Federal Only Voter is a voter who registers to vote, but does not provide documentary proof of citizenship or proof of residency, and/or the county recorder is unable to ascertain citizenship status of the voter. Therefore, the federal-only voter may only vote in federal elections (President, U.S. Senator, and U.S. House of Representatives).”

Full ballot voters have “provided documentary proof of citizenship and residency when registering to vote, or the county recorder ascertained proof of citizenship from the voter registration database or the Motor Vehicle Division. A full ballot includes federal elections, state elections, and local elections.”