Arizona Supreme Court Rules 98K Voters Affected by MVD Error Can Vote With Full Ballot

PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that nearly 98,000 voters whose citizenship documents have not been verified can cast a full ballot in local and state elections in the upcoming November elections.

The ruling found that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and other county registrars do not have the authority to change voter registration status to federal-only ballots because those voters registered long ago.

“Based on these facts, we do not seek to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state elections,” Supreme Court Justice Ann Scott Timmer said in her ruling. “Such action is not authorized by state law and would violate due process.”

The Supreme Court found that while county registrars have an obligation to verify proof of citizenship, in this case there was no evidence to suggest that the voters in question were not U.S. citizens.

As Timmer explained, “Fontes and Richer acknowledge that ‘it is possible that voters included in the study provided satisfactory DPOC evidence’”

“This Court has also accepted original special proceeding jurisdiction in election cases where there is an immediate need for relief because of the rapidly approaching election dates and where key facts are not in dispute,” Timmer wrote in the ruling.

“Today, we have a significant victory for those whose fundamental right to vote has been under scrutiny. The Court faced a stark choice: allow voters to participate in just a few federal elections through a limited ballot measure or have their voices heard in hundreds of decisions through a full ballot measure that includes many local and state offices,” Fontes said. “We are deeply grateful to the Arizona Supreme Court for its swift and fair decision.”

Meanwhile, Richer, a Republican, expressed his gratitude to the court, saying in part, “I thank the Arizona Supreme Court for its extremely prompt and professional review of this case.”

The issue involved a 2004 Arizona law that requires residents to provide proof of citizenship (DPOC) to register as “full-voter voters,” which allows them to vote in all federal, state and local elections. Those who fail to provide proof of citizenship can register to vote only in federal elections.

A problem has been discovered with the way duplicate driver’s licenses are issued, as a result of which some voters who were issued a driver’s license before October 1, 1996, may not have citizenship certificates on file.

Fontes and Richer disagreed on the status that voters should have. Richer asked the high court to weigh in.

The swing state is unique in that it distinguishes between voters who can only vote in federal elections and those who can vote in federal, state and local elections. Eligibility for the latter classification requires proof of citizenship.

Did you notice a spelling or grammatical error in our article? Click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video with the news of the day? Send this is for us here with a short description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.