(DailyAnswer.org) – Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is facing a legal battle over a voter registration issue involving over 218,000 people. America First Legal (AFL) filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, claiming that Fontes’ office is illegally hiding a list of individuals who registered to vote without providing proof of citizenship, which is required by Arizona law.
AFL had requested the list through public records, but the Secretary of State’s office denied their request. AFL said that instead of responding professionally, Fontes’ office accused them of a conspiracy to harass voters. AFL called these accusations baseless, insisting they only want to protect voters and ensure transparency. They also said that Fontes’ office had already compiled the list, since they know exactly how many people are affected.
In addition to withholding the list from the public, AFL said that Fontes is not sharing the information with county recorders. This refusal, they argue, prevents counties from verifying if those on the list are U.S. citizens, as required by law.
The controversy stems from a recent discovery by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. He explained that a system flaw, dating back to 2004, allowed nearly 100,000 people to register without showing proof of citizenship. This problem affects every county in Arizona. The flaw is tied to a group of people who got driver’s licenses before 1996, when proof of citizenship wasn’t required. When they renewed or replaced their licenses later, the system wrongly recorded them as having provided citizenship documents.
Richer filed his own lawsuit against Fontes’ office, arguing that these voters should not be allowed to cast full ballots. But Fontes pushed back, saying it’s too close to the election to make such a change. The Arizona Supreme Court ultimately ruled that these voters could cast full ballots in the upcoming election. Shortly after, Fontes’ office announced the real number of impacted voters is actually 218,000, far more than initially reported.
The lawsuit continues, and Arizona’s voters await the outcome.
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