Arizona Officials Find Nearly 100,000 Voters Didn’t Provide Proof of Citizenship

Driver’s licenses issued to replace original licenses obtained without proof of citizenship were accepted as proof of citizenship in state and local elections.

An election worker sorts ballots in Arizona, in a file photo. John Moore/Getty Images

Officials in Arizona have discovered a flaw that allowed more than 97,000 residents to vote in state and local races despite not providing proof of citizenship, which is required by law.

The Arizona Supreme Court has been petitioned to determine whether the people can still vote in November without providing proof of citizenship.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer’s office found the flaw.

In 1996, Arizona started requiring residents to provide proof of citizenship to obtain driver’s licenses. In 2004, Arizona started requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal, state, and local races. If no proof was presented, then residents could register to vote in federal races only.

That same law let voters present driver’s licenses issued after Oct. 1, 1996, to prove citizenship.

The error in the statewide voter registration database accepted a person’s license as proof of citizenship even if the license was a duplicate of one issued before 1996, when no proof of citizenship was required to obtain it. A duplicate license can be issued, for example, if a person loses or damages his or her license.

The error means that 97,688 voters have been able to vote in state and local races for years despite not meeting the legal requirements.

“This flaw has existed since 2004. In every county. Across the state,” Richer posted on social media platform X on Sept. 17.

The flaw was discovered about one week ago when a noncitizen was found to be registered to vote in federal, state, and local races, according to Richer’s office. Officials said the person did not cast any ballots.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said that the voters should be allowed to vote in November despite the lack of proof of citizenship.

“[The secretary of state is] unwilling to disenfranchise this many voters by limiting them suddenly, and with little notice, to a federal only ballot when none of them had notice of or blame for this issue,” according to a letter that Fontes’s office sent to county records.

Richer said the residents have not met the legal requirements so should be allowed to vote only in federal races.

He petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court to ask for a ruling that backed his position. The petition is against Fontes.

“Because Arizona law requires that affected voters be made federal only unless and until they provide [proof of citizenship], and because the secretary has issued conflicting guidance, only this court can resolve this controversy and provide the necessary certainty for the 2024 general election,” the petition states.

Richer asked justices to weigh in before ballots are sent to some voters, including overseas voters, on Sept. 21.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a statement that after learning about the issue, she directed the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) to work with the secretary of state’s office to fix the problem so no additional voters would be listed as being eligible to vote in state and local races despite lacking proof of citizenship.

“I’m proud of MVD for their hard work implementing a fix to this problem in record time,” Hobbs said.

Most of the voters are between the ages of 45 and 60, according to officials, and the majority live in Maricopa County. A plurality are Republicans, although large numbers are independents or Democrats.

“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,” Fontes said at a news briefing. “We cannot confirm that at this moment, but we don’t have any reason to believe that.”

If the Arizona Supreme Court sides with Richer, Fontes said, people identified as part of the more than 97,000 affected residents will be notified and can submit proof of citizenship through an electronic portal that the secretary of state’s office is currently developing.