A coding error in Arizona's voter registration system has raised questions about the eligibility of nearly 100,000 voters as the state prepares for the 2024 elections.
According to The Guardian, election staff in Maricopa County found a problem involving voters with older driver's licenses. These individuals may not have provided the required proof of citizenship, but their records were mistakenly marked as if they had.
This error has allowed these individuals to vote full ballots in state and local elections, potentially in violation of Arizona's bifurcated voting system.
The problem stems from a combination of Arizona's specific voter registration requirements and the longevity of its driver's licenses. Since 1996, residents have been required to show proof of citizenship to obtain a regular driver's license, and since 2004, the same requirement has applied to voting in state and local elections. However, Arizona driver's licenses do not expire until the holder turns 65, meaning some residents may have valid licenses for decades without needing renewal.
Arizona's top election officials are at odds over how to address this issue. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, has directed counties to maintain the status quo and allow affected voters to cast full ballots in the upcoming election. He emphasized that there is no evidence of widespread ineligibility among the affected voters.
Fontes stated during a press conference, "We have no reason to believe that there are any significant numbers of individuals remaining on this list who are not eligible to vote in Arizona." He added that while this cannot be confirmed at the moment, there is no reason to suspect otherwise.
On the other hand, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, argues that these voters should only be permitted to cast federal-only ballots until they can provide proper documentation of citizenship. This disagreement has led to a legal battle, with Richer's office filing a lawsuit against Fontes's office on Tuesday afternoon.
The discovery of this error comes at a critical time, with early ballots set to be distributed to some voters as soon as this week. Given Arizona's status as a swing state with historically close elections, this issue is likely to face intense scrutiny and legal challenges in the coming weeks.
The affected group consists of approximately 98,000 voters, which Fontes described as predominantly Republican and between the ages of 45 and 60. These individuals likely received their driver's licenses before 1996 when proof of citizenship became a requirement for obtaining a license.
Governor Katie Hobbs has directed the motor vehicles division to rectify the coding error, which Fontes claims has already been resolved for future registrations. However, the question of how to handle the existing affected voters remains contentious.
Republicans in the state have been vocal about concerns regarding non-citizens voting in the upcoming election despite a lack of evidence supporting widespread occurrences of such fraud.
The error in question has apparently gone unnoticed since 2005, according to the lawsuit filed by the Maricopa County Recorder's office. It relates to a quirk in the motor vehicles division's system, which would update the license issuance date when people replaced or updated their licenses. This made it appear as though the license was newer and would have included proof of citizenship, even if it had not.
The discovery of this voter registration error in Arizona has sparked a debate over the eligibility of nearly 100,000 voters. State officials are divided on how to address the issue, with some advocating for maintaining the status quo while others push for stricter adherence to citizenship documentation requirements.
