{"id":2342908,"date":"2024-09-18T14:13:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T18:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/az-finds-100000-voters-lacking-citizenship-proof-on-wrong-list\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T14:15:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T18:15:49","slug":"az-finds-100000-voters-lacking-citizenship-proof-on-wrong-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/az-finds-100000-voters-lacking-citizenship-proof-on-wrong-list\/","title":{"rendered":"AZ Finds 100,000 Voters Lacking Citizenship Proof On Wrong List"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Faz-finds-100000-voters-lacking-citizenship-proof-on-wrong-list%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2342908&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In Arizona, a significant voter registration issue has emerged, revealing that nearly 100,000 \u200dvoters might have been \u2063incorrectly categorized as eligible \u2063for both state and federal elections without providing the required documentary proof of\u200d citizenship. This discovery was\u200d flagged\u200d by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer to Governor Katie\u200b Hobbs after a non-citizen green card holder was found on the voter rolls as a full-ballot voter. According to the \u200cstate, \u2063these voters mostly\u2063 belong \u200bto\u2062 the Republican \u2063party.<\/p>\n<p>The situation traces back to an administrative error that originated in 2004, especially concerning those who received their driver&#8217;s licenses before 1996. A previous Supreme Court \u200cdecision invalidated Arizona&#8217;s requirement for proof of citizenship in federal elections, allowing individuals to register based on a sworn\u2062 statement. However,\u200d an Arizona law recently upheld now mandates proof of citizenship for state registration forms.<\/p>\n<p>Arizona\u200b residents have been required to provide proof of citizenship to obtain a driver&#8217;s license since 1996. The problem arose when the motor \u2063vehicle\u200d division&#8217;s system failed to correctly track licenses that were replaced, potentially circumventing proof\u200c requirements. <\/p>\n<p>As a result, Richer has filed a lawsuit urging the \u2063state Supreme Court to redefine these voters as &#8220;federal-only,&#8221;\u200d allowing them to vote\u200d only in federal elections. Meanwhile, there \u2064are calls to expedite the review of these voters by the Department of Homeland Security to comply with legal\u2063 requirements for maintaining\u200d accurate \u2062voter rolls. The ongoing investigation suggests potential complications for \u2062both voters and election officials as the matter unfolds.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In Arizona, voters need to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in statewide elections. Those who do not provide proof are registered as &ldquo;federal-only&rdquo; voters, which allows them to cast a ballot only in federal elections. But the state says it discovered nearly 100,000 voters on the rolls who did not provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote but were nonetheless tagged as eligible to vote in both state and federal elections.<\/p>\n<p>Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer <a href=\"https:\/\/azgovernor.gov\/office-arizona-governor\/news\/2024\/09\/governor-katie-hobbs-statement-administrative-issue-avid-and\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">flagged an<\/a> &ldquo;erroneous voter registration record&rdquo; to Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs on Sept. 7. A green card holder who, as a noncitizen, is legally prohibited from voting, had ended up on the voter rolls as a full-ballot voter, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.votebeat.org\/arizona\/2024\/09\/17\/citizenship-proof-records-error-federal-only-voter-registration-eligibility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VoteBeat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The state ultimately found approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/stephen_richer\/status\/1836080041631121913\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">97,000 voters<\/a> who are currently listed as full-ballot voters despite having not fulfilled the requirement to provide documentary proof of citizenship to vote in statewide elections. Fontes&rsquo; office claimed most of the voters are &ldquo;Republican.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hobbs says her team &ldquo;identified and fixed an administrative error that originated in 2004, and affects longtime residents who received a driver&rsquo;s license before 1996&rdquo; but that &ldquo;out of an abundance of caution, [the secretary of state&rsquo;s office and the motor vehicle division] will be implementing an independent audit to ensure that MVD systems are functioning as necessary to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yes-biden-is-hiding-his-plan-to-rig-the-2022-midterm-elections\/\" title=\"Yes, Biden Is Hiding His Plan To Rig The 2022 Midterm Elections\">support voter registration<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>How Did These Voters Get on the Rolls?<\/h2>\n<p>In 2013, the Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/570\/1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">struck down<\/a> an Arizona law that required proof of citizenship to register to vote, ruling it conflicted with the 1993 National Voter Registration Act&rsquo;s requirement that states &ldquo;accept and use&rdquo; the standardized federal voter registration form for federal elections. The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/12\/elon-musk-rightly-says-arizona-doesnt-verify-federal-voter-citizenship-but-the-feds-dont-let-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">form<\/a> only requires an applicant to swear, &ldquo;under penalty of perjury,&rdquo; that he is a citizen.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/22\/scotus-partly-restores-arizonas-proof-of-citizenship-voter-requirements-for-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently upheld<\/a> a different Arizona law mandating individuals provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote via a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-can-reject-voter-registrations-without-citizenship-proof-court-rules\/\" title=\"Arizona can reject voter registrations without citizenship proof, court rules\">state voter registration form<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Arizona residents have been required to provide proof of citizenship to get a driver&rsquo;s license in the state since Oct. 1, 1996, while other individuals are issued a different type of license. Because of that, Hobbs&rsquo; office says would-be voters may use a &ldquo;driver&rsquo;s license issued after October 1, 1996&rdquo; as &ldquo;valid DPOC [documentary proof of citizenship].&rdquo; The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-moves-to-clean-voter-rolls-after-finding-137-foreigners-registered-to-vote\/\" title=\"Ohio Takes Action to Purge Voter Rolls: 137 Foreign Registrations Detected\">statewide voter registration database<\/a>, AVID, &ldquo;is programmed to query and pull driver&rsquo;s license records &hellip; for voter registration processing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hobbs&rsquo; office says that when the MVD issues a &ldquo;duplicate license&rdquo; to replace an existing license (often because it has been lost or damaged), the original issue date is replaced with the date on which the duplicate was issued. The AVID system was not programmed to alert counties that a replacement license sent after Oct. 1, 1996, may have been originally issued before Oct. 1, 1996, and therefore does not comply with documentary proof of citizenship requirements.<\/p>\n<h2>What Happens to the Voters?<\/h2>\n<p>While the state undertakes an investigation,<strong> <\/strong>Richer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/25148627-county-to-sos-lawsuit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed a lawsuit<\/a> in the state Supreme Court on Tuesday asking the court to force Fontes to classify the roughly 97,000 voters as federal-only voters. This means those voters could vote in the upcoming election, but only for federal candidates. The voters would not be permitted to vote in statewide and local races.<\/p>\n<p>Fontes is prepared to argue that the voters should remain as full-ballot voters, according to VoteBeat.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We do not want to see this happen,&rdquo; Fontes reportedly said about the possibility of the voters being kept out of statewide and local races. <\/p>\n<p>Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona Chairwoman Merissa Hamilton tells The Federalist that &ldquo;the easiest way for [the counties] to be able to resolve this issue is to send these 97,000 voters to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), let DHS know there was an error and ask them to expedite reviewing the list.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Doing so, Hamilton argues, would comply with part of a recent lawsuit <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/04\/lawsuit-arizonas-15-counties-are-failing-to-remove-noncitizens-from-the-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alleging<\/a> Arizona&rsquo;s 15 election recorders have &ldquo;failed to take the actions required by law to ensure that foreign citizens are removed from their voter rolls.&rdquo; The suit was brought by Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and resident Yvonne Cahill. The plaintiffs are represented by America First Legal.<\/p>\n<p>The suit follows letters sent to all 15 counties in July alleging the counties have not maintained accurate and up-to-date voter rolls. Richer in particular <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/07\/lawsuit-maricopa-countys-election-chief-is-unlawfully-refusing-to-undertake-proper-voter-list-maintenance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allegedly<\/a> refused to undertake list maintenance procedures.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If Maricopa County, for example, had just complied with the letter that we sent them months ago, they would already have the infrastructure in place to resolve this issue of the 97,000 voters immediately today,&rdquo; Hamilton told The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>Richer&rsquo;s office <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/04\/lawsuit-arizonas-15-counties-are-failing-to-remove-noncitizens-from-the-voter-rolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previously told<\/a> The Federalist that the Maricopa County Recorder&rsquo;s Office &ldquo;prioritizes and prides itself on maintaining accurate, up-to-date voter rolls.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But Hamilton contends that if the county discovered a voter listed as a &ldquo;full-ballot voter but who is a green card holder and not a legal citizen,&rdquo; then voter rolls were not being maintained properly.  <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They can use the remedy in our lawsuit with America First Legal to validate these 97,000 voters, plus the nearly 50,000 existing federal-only voters,&rdquo; Hamilton tells The Federalist. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a choice by the recorders to disenfranchise voters. They have the tools to make sure only legal voters receive ballots.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Hamilton says that there &ldquo;should be a process for [voters] to be able to quickly be notified and provide their documentary proof of citizenship&rdquo; so that they may vote in both the upcoming statewide and federal elections.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Arizona, individuals must present documentary proof of citizenship to register for statewide elections. If they fail to do so, they are classified as &#8220;federal-only&#8221; voters, permitting them to vote solely in federal elections. However, the state has identified nearly 100,000 voters who were registered as eligible for both state and federal elections without having provided the necessary proof of citizenship. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer alerted Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs on September 7 about an incorrect voter registration record involving a green card holder who is not allowed to vote but was mistakenly listed as a full-ballot voter.<\/p>\n<p>The state ultimately found around 97,000 individuals currently categorized as full-ballot voters despite not meeting the documentary proof requirement for statewide voting. Richer\u2019s office indicated that most of these voters are likely &#8220;Republican.&#8221; Governor Hobbs stated that her team had corrected an administrative error dating back to 2004 that affected long-term residents who obtained their driver\u2019s licenses before 1996. To ensure proper functioning of voter registration systems moving forward, her office plans to conduct an independent audit.<\/p>\n<p>The issue stems from a Supreme Court ruling in 2013 that invalidated an Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration due to its conflict with the National Voter Registration Act&#8217;s stipulation that states must accept standardized federal forms which only require applicants to affirm their citizenship under penalty of perjury. Recently, however, the Supreme Court upheld another Arizona law mandating proof of citizenship when using state forms.<\/p>\n<p>Since October 1, 1996, Arizonans have been required to provide proof of citizenship when obtaining a driver\u2019s license; those without such documentation receive different licenses. Consequently, Hobbs\u2019 office notes that potential voters can use a driver\u2019s license issued after this date as valid documentary proof. The state&#8217;s voter registration database is designed to access driver\u2019s license records during processing.<\/p>\n<p>However, when duplicate licenses are issued (often due to loss or damage), the original issue date is replaced with the duplicate&#8217;s issuance date in the system\u2014leading it not to alert counties if a replacement was originally issued before October 1st and thus does not meet documentation requirements.<\/p>\n<p>As investigations continue into this matter, Richer has filed a lawsuit requesting that these approximately 97,000 individuals be reclassified as federal-only voters\u2014allowing them participation only in federal elections while excluding them from local and statewide races. Fontes intends to argue against this classification.<\/p>\n<p>Merissa Hamilton from Strong Communities Foundation suggests sending these names directly to Homeland Security for expedited review could resolve this situation efficiently and comply with ongoing legal actions alleging failure by election officials in maintaining accurate rolls by removing non-citizens from voting lists\u2014a claim supported by America First Legal representing plaintiffs including Hamilton herself and resident Yvonne Cahill.<\/p>\n<p>Hamilton criticized Maricopa County&#8217;s handling of its voter rolls and emphasized there should be mechanisms allowing affected individuals quick notification so they can provide necessary documentation ahead of upcoming elections<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2342909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1280px-Election_Day_2020_50564518207-e1726675462671.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[41158,35588,32644,6431,4223],"class_list":["post-2342908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-az","tag-citizenship-proof","tag-election-integrity","tag-voter-registration","tag-voters"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1280px-Election_Day_2020_50564518207-e1726675462671.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2342908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2342908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2342908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2342908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}