PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents hadn’t been confirmed can vote in state and local elections. This is a significant decision that could influence ballot measures and tight legislative races.
The court’s decision comes after officials discovered a database error that mistakenly designated these voters as having access to the full ballot for two decades. These voters were already entitled to vote in federal elections, including for president and Congress, regardless of the court’s ruling.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County recorder, had disagreed on the voting status of these individuals. Richer asked the high court to intervene, arguing that Fontes had disregarded state law by advising county officials to allow the affected voters to cast full ballots.
Fontes argued that prohibiting these voters, who believed they had met the voting requirements, from accessing the full ballot would raise concerns about equal protection and due process.
The high court, which has a Republican lean, sided with Fontes. It stated that county officials lacked the authority to alter the voting status of these individuals because they had registered long ago and had attested under oath to their citizenship. The justices also emphasized that the voters were not responsible for the database error and highlighted the limited time remaining before the November 5 general election.
“We are unwilling on these facts to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state contests,” Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer wrote in the ruling.
Out of the nearly 98,000 affected voters, most reside in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. They are long-term state residents ranging in age from 45 to 60. Approximately 37% of them are registered Republicans, about 27% are registered Democrats, and the rest are independents or affiliated with minor parties.
Arizona stands out among states in requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship to participate in local and state elections. Voters can demonstrate their citizenship by presenting a driver’s license or tribal ID number, or they can attach a copy of a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization documents.
Arizona considers driver’s licenses issued after October 1996 as valid proof of citizenship. However, a system coding error incorrectly labeled nearly 98,000 voters who obtained licenses before 1996 — roughly 2.5% of all registered voters — as full-ballot voters, according to state officials.
The error between the state’s voter registration database and the Motor Vehicle Division has been resolved.
This significant number of votes could influence the outcome of closely contested races for the state Legislature, where Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in both chambers.
Voters are also making decisions on the constitutional right to abortion and on a state law that would criminalize noncitizens for entering Arizona through Mexico at any location other than a port of entry.
While Richer and Fontes disagreed on the status of these voters, both welcomed the court’s ruling.
“Thank God,” Richer said on the social platform X. He told The Associated Press on Thursday that maintaining voters’ statuses would be easier from an administrative perspective.
Fontes, in a news release, called the ruling a “significant victory for those whose fundamental right to vote was under scrutiny.” He indicated that election officials will contact voters who need to update their proof of citizenship after the election.
John Groseclose, one of the voters whose citizenship was in question, expressed relief at not having to spend more time resolving the issue.
Earlier this week, he mentioned waiting for an hour and a half at a motor vehicle office in Tempe only to find that the employee assisting him was unaware of the issue and didn’t know how to update his voter registration, despite his providing an official birth certificate and a new passport.
“I’m glad that none of us are going to be disenfranchised over an error generated by the MVD 20 some-odd years ago,” Groseclose told the AP.
