Arizona official sues to bar 100K from local voting

"In all likelihood," the registrants across Arizona who have not submitted proof of citizenship are "almost all U.S. citizens," Stephen Richer said

(Image credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

published 18 September 2024

What happened

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) asked the Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday to prohibit nearly 100,000 longtime residents from voting in state and local elections this year, because the state has no evidence they submitted proof of citizenship as required under a 2004 state law. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) argued these voters should be given full ballots, as they have for the past 20 years.

"In all likelihood," the estimated 97,000 registrants across Arizona who have not submitted proof of citizenship are "almost all U.S. citizens," Richer (pictured above) said on X. Those voters all first obtained Arizona driver's licenses before 1996, and most of them "lean older and are Republicans," The Arizona Republic said. All of them "swore under the penalty of criminal charges" that they were citizens and have been on voter rolls "for years."

While this group is just a "small fragment" of Arizona's 4.1 million registered voters, they "could be decisive" in statewide races and ballot initiatives, The Washington Post said. They can vote in federal races, thanks to a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.