Arizona GOP wants full ballots for 97K voters affected by MVD record ‘error’

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Leaders with the Arizona GOP want the more than 97,000 voters impacted by what state officials are calling an “administrative error” to be given a full ballot, with statewide and local races, as the state secretary of state is urging.

Republican legislative leaders, including state Sen. Warren Peterson and state House Speaker Ben Toma, filed a legal brief, also known as an “amicus brief,” asking the Arizona Supreme Court to grant the impacted voters complete access to their ballots in the upcoming November election.

The issue centers around a 2004 Arizona law that requires residents to provide documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register as “full-ballot voters,” allowing them to vote in all federal, state and local races. Those who don’t provide proof of citizenship can only register to vote in federal races.

A problem was discovered in how duplicate driver’s licenses are issued, and thus, certain voters who were issued a license before Oct. 1, 1996, may not have citizenship records on file.

“We will not stand by as voters are disenfranchised, especially so close to an election,” party chair Gina Swoboda said in a prepared statement. “Rushing to disenfranchise voters now would not only be illegal but would severely undermine confidence in our elections.”

The viewpoint differs from the opinion of Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, also a Republican, who said that impacted voters should be moved to federal-only status “unless and until the voters provide DPOC”—or documentary proof of citizenship.

The legal brief argues that county recorders have no statutory authority to bar voters from full ballot access to federal-only status, claiming that the recorder only has “powers expressly or impliedly delegated to him by the state constitution or statues.”

Republicans also argue that affected voters must be provided adequate notice and an opportunity to provide the necessary citizenship paperwork before their registration status is changed.

The legal brief details the state requirements for county recorders to provide an easy way for a voter to fix their registration: “in writing, with an easy means of replying,” with 35 days for the voter-in-question to reply.

With less than 50 days until the general election, that timeline is put into question.

Arizona state law allows any voter with an incomplete registration form the ability to “cure” or fix the form anytime before 7 p.m. on Election Day.

The lawmakers also note that the court should defer any fix until after the 2024 general election to avoid overlapping the early voting window and the notice-and-cure period.

Republicans also argue making last-minute changes to the election process risks “causing mistakes and uncertainty.”

State officials have stressed that there is no evidence to suggest noncitizens voting in Arizona’s elections, but the issue has fueled new election conspiracy theories.

Arizona is required to accept the federal registration form, but anyone who does not provide proof of citizenship is only allowed to vote for president, the U.S. House or the Senate. A 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling reinforced this requirement.

Federal registration forms require people to swear they are U.S. citizens, but there is no requirement for proof.

A 1996 federal law says noncitizens who vote illegally will face a fine, jail time, or both and can be deported.

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