Arizona to purge up to 50,000 noncitizens from voter rolls in election integrity win

All of Arizona's 15 counties are preparing to purge up to 50,000 noncitizens from their voter rolls as a result of a settlement with America First Legal.

On behalf of EZAZ.org and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen, AFL filed a lawsuit in August against the counties, arguing that they violated state law by failing to require proof of citizenship to vote in local and state elections. The counties were also accused of failing to perform monthly noncitizen voter roll checks.

'It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, which would allow them to vote in state and local elections.'

The complaint was terminated on April 9 after the parties reached a stipulation of dismissal.

As a result, all 15 counties sent requests to the Department of Homeland Security to assist them in cleaning up their voter rolls by verifying citizenship status.

Nearly 50,000 "federal-only" registered voters on the counties' rolls have not provided proof of citizenship, Fox News Digital reported.

AFL senior counsel James Rogers called the settlement "a great result for all Arizonans."

He told Fox News Digital that the counties' partnership with the DHS "will help County Recorders find and remove any aliens on their voter rolls."

"It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, which would allow them to vote in state and local elections. AFL congratulates each of Arizona's 15 county recorders for taking this bold and important step for election integrity in the state," Rogers stated.

On April 8, Maricopa County confirmed that the recorder's office had "initiated communications" with the DHS.

The county said, "The Office is seeking assistance to verify the citizenship status of registered voters who have not provided Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). This action aligns with Arizona law and underscores the Recorder's responsibility to maintain accurate voter registration rolls."

Maricopa County recorder Justin Heap stated, "I promised the voters of Maricopa County that I would pursue every avenue to clean up our voter rolls, and that's exactly what we're doing. Ensuring only citizens can cast a ballot in future elections is essential to restoring trust in Maricopa County elections. It is my sincere hope that DHS will respond affirmatively and provide the resources we need to run comprehensive checks of our voter registration system against their non-citizen database. 'One citizen, one vote' isn't just a slogan, it is the right of every American citizen."

Anything else?

In September, Maricopa County's then-recorder Stephen Richer explained that state officials had discovered a decade-old "flaw" that allowed 97,000 individuals to register to vote without providing proof of citizenship. He noted that the error had impacted every county since 2004.

"Unfortunately, the way the system was designed allowed for one group of voters through the cracks," Richer said.

The Secretary of State's Office later found that the number of registered voters with non-verified citizenship was actually closer to 218,000.

"This data set includes approximately 79,000 Republicans, 61,000 Democrats, and 76,000 Other Party (OTH), bringing the total of impacted individuals to approximately 218,000," the office stated.

AFL sued the office for "illegally withholding" the list of voters. Arizona's secretary of state turned over the list to AFL in November.

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