Arizona officials suddenly discover 97,000 registered voters may not have provided proof of citizenship after all

This week, Arizona officials announced that nearly 100,000 registered voters may not be able to vote in state and local elections this November after they may not have provided proof of U.S. citizenship as required by state law.

The apparent "flaw" in the voter registration process in Arizona was discovered last week, Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer said in lengthy X post on Tuesday, even though it had been around for decades.

'In all likelihood, they almost all [are] U.S. Citizens. But they have NOT provided documented proof of citizenship.'

The issue involves a complicated nexus of state and federal law and rules governing an Arizona driver's license.

Arizona has a unique system by which prospective voters in federal elections may register using a federal form that does not require documented proof of citizenship. Documentation is required, however, for those casting ballots in state and local elections.

Since 1996, those wishing to obtain a standard Arizona driver's license have had to show proof of U.S. citizenship. Green-card holders are given an alternate license.

Thus, everyone who has registered to vote in Arizona using a state driver's license since 1996 has been presumed to be a U.S. citizen and therefore eligible to vote in all federal, state, and local elections since they would have had to furnish the necessary documentation when they applied for a driver's license.

Beginning in 2004 though, the Motor Vehicle Division changed rules so that those applying for a renewal or replacement license had an updated issue date stamped on it.

This system allowed one group of registered voters to, in Richer's words, fall "through the cracks" regarding proof of citizenship. This group of about 97,000 individuals from across the state received a driver's license before 1996 but received a replacement license sometime after 2004 and then used that updated license to register to vote.

"All of these people have attested under penalty of law that they are U.S. citizens," Richer explained. "And, in all likelihood, they almost all [are] U.S. Citizens. But they have NOT provided documented proof of citizenship."

According to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, the affected voters are likely between the ages of 45 and 60 and lean Republican.

With the November election fast approaching and military ballots going out later this week, Richer, a Republican, is filing a "friendly" lawsuit against Fontes, a Democrat, in hopes that the state supreme court will provide clarity on the issue — and soon.

"It is my position that these registrants have not satisfied Arizona's documented proof of citizenship law, and therefore can only vote a 'FED ONLY' ballot [in 2024]," Richer said.

Fontes believes that the issue cannot possibly be resolved fairly in such a truncated timeframe and would therefore prevent many otherwise lawful U.S. citizens from participating in state and local elections. "We do not want to see this happen," he said. "We are advocating for status quo."

The news comes on the heels of lawsuits filed against all 15 Arizona counties by America First Legal, a group with strong ties to former President Donald Trump. As Blaze News previously reported, the lawsuit, filed September 4, accused the counties and their respective recorders of failing to purge foreign nationals from their voter rolls in defiance of state law.

"We are taking emergency action to secure our elections," former Trump adviser and current AFL president Stephen Miller told Blaze News in a previous statement. "... America First Legal will do everything in its power to fight mass illegal alien voting and foreign interference in our democracy."

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