The Arizona State Supreme Court has ruled that Arizona voters affected by a registration system error can vote on the full ballot in the upcoming general election.
“[Stephen] 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,” read a portion of the court ruling.
So, if a driver with an older license registers to vote, the MVD thinks they have proof of citizenship in the system and allows them to vote a full ballot.
At the time the error was announced, Richer said the majority of the affected voters are most likely U.S. citizens: they just don’t have documented proof.
Most of the people affected are between the ages of 45 and 60, and over 60% of them are in Maricopa County.
According to a ruling by the Arizona State Supreme Court, voters in Arizona who were impacted by a registration system error will be able to cast a full ballot in the upcoming general election.
On the afternoon of September 15, departing Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer announced the news on his personal X (previously Twitter) account. 20.
Per the court ruling, those who registered to vote in Arizona by Jan. 24, 2005, voters who choose to provide proof of citizenship under a ballot initiative approved by the electorate are “deemed to have provided satisfactory evidence of [documentary proof of citizenship] and are not required to resubmit evidence of citizenship unless the person is changing voter registration from one county onto another.”. “.”.
A portion of the court decision stated, “[Stephen] 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.”.
A voter’s right to notice and an opportunity to contest any determination of their ineligibility is recognized by law, according to the court ruling, and the county recorder is mandated by relevant state law to “initiate a process to cancel a registration that includes sending the person notice that the person’s registration will be canceled in [35] days unless the person provides satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.”. “.
We refuse to deny voters the right to vote in state elections in large numbers due to these facts. Part of the decision stated, “Doing so would violate principles of due process and is not authorized by state law.”.
Recently found error.
On Sept. 17. We revealed that 97,000 voters had registered to vote without presenting official proof of citizenship, according to information uncovered by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.
“This defect has been present since 2004. At the time, Richer stated, “in every county throughout the state.”.
Arizona has required voters to present official proof of citizenship since 2004. The MVD considers this evidence of citizenship, so if a driver with an older license registers to vote, they are granted the ability to cast a complete ballot. Their years-long evasion has been made possible by the error.
Richer stated that most of the impacted voters are probably Americans when the error was first made public. S. Just no official documentation exists for citizens. Republicans make up the majority of them, followed by Democrats and independents. Over 60% of those impacted are in Maricopa County, and the majority of them are between the ages of 45 and 60.
These voters were to be restricted to voting on a federal-only ballot, which only included elections for federal offices, rather than a full ballot that included state, local, and federal elections, according to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.