Arizona Maricopa County Proof of Citizenship Error Challenge

Lawsuit filed by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) challenging Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ (D) decision to allow nearly 100,000 voters incorrectly identified as having provided documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) to vote in federal, state and local races during the November 2024 general election. Under state law, voters must provide DPOC in order to be “full ballot” voters who can vote in all elections. Voters who register to vote without DPOC can only vote in federal elections. Due to an error in the state’s database, nearly 100,000 voters who received their licenses before 1996 and did not provide DPOC were marked as full ballot voters who would receive a ballot to vote in state and federal elections when they should be treated as federal only voters who receive ballots just for federal elections. After an investigation, Richer’s office identified one noncitizen who was inadvertently registered as a full ballot voter due to this error. On Sept. 17, 2024, Fontes verbally instructed county recorders to provide the voters affected by this error full ballots in the upcoming general election, determining it was already too close to the election to change voters’ registration statuses under the Purcell doctrine. Richer argues that allowing these individuals to vote in state and local elections without providing DPOC would violate state law. He asks the court to rule that Fontes’ guidance exceeds his authority as secretary of state and to determine whether the Purcell doctrine applies or if state election officials must determine whether these voters have DPOC before allowing them to receive full voter ballots in the November election.

RESULT: On Sept. 20, 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the nearly 100,000 affected voters can receive full voter ballots in the November election. The affected voters will be allowed to vote in both federal and state elections.

Last updated: September 23, 2024 9:30 am EST