The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that nearly 98,000 people with unconfirmed citizenship can vote in state and local elections, citing a database error that for two decades mistakenly granted these individuals full voting access. This error affected those who received driver’s licenses before 1996 and later registered to vote. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer argued that these individuals should only vote in federal elections, but the court disagreed, stating that voters were not at fault for the error and reaffirming their eligibility just weeks before the Nov. 5 election.
In August, 24 attorneys general were pushing to enforce proof of citizenship for federal voting in Arizona. Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) denied that illegal immigrants voting is an issue, while Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) contends it is a growing problem due to automatic registrations through federal programs like Medicaid.
