Federal Judge Denies Right-Wing Challenge to Arizona Voter Roll Maintenance Practices
A federal judge denied a right-wing group’s request to require Arizona county election officials to verify the citizenship status of every federal-only voter ahead of the November general election. Current practices for voter roll maintenance will stay in place as litigation continues.
This order is in response to a Sept. 15 request from the plaintiffs asking the court to require the defendants to submit citizenship inquiry requests to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for all federal-only voters before the general election.
Arizona District Judge Krissa Lanham ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing and failed to show how the relief they requested would address the harm of “vote dilution” that they alleged. Additionally, she noted that voters cannot be removed from voter rolls within 90 days of an election per the National Voter Registration Act.
In her order, she wrote, “The court declines to order Arizona’s county recorders to divert resources from preparing for the general election to instead submitting thousands of requests to DHS.”
The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 5 by Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, a right-wing organization with connections to former President Donald Trump advisor Stephen Miller. It claimed that Maricopa County and the county’s recorder Stephen Richer (R) were failing to adequately remove noncitizens from the voter rolls. According to the complaint, state laws require county recorders to confirm the citizenship of federal-only voters using “all available databases,” including federal ones.
Richer denied the allegations, stating in his reply brief that he already uses all available resources to verify the citizenship of registrants.
Arizona has one of the strictest citizenship requirements, leading to a bifurcated voter registration system. State law requires voters to show documented proof of citizenship (DPOC) when registering to vote. However, in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., the Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot mandate additional requirements like a DPOC when voters register using the federal voter registration form. As a result, Arizonans who register using the federal form become “federal-only” voters who receive ballots that only list federal offices. Those who register using the state form are required to show DPOC and receive a full ballot, listing federal, state and local offices and measures.
After the case was moved to federal court on Aug. 12, Strong Communities Foundation filed an amended complaint to challenge the practices for removing noncitizens from the voter rolls in all 15 Arizona counties.