Suit: AZ Counties Are Failing To Take Nonctizens Off Voter Rolls
Arizona’s 15 counties are refusing to undertake required procedures to ensure foreign nationals are removed from the voter rolls, an “amended” lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.
Brought on behalf of the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and resident Yvonne Cahill, the legal challenge argues that the Grand Canyon State’s 15 election recorders “have failed to take the actions required by law to ensure that foreign citizens are removed from their voter rolls.” Plaintiffs are represented by America First Legal (AFL) and a law firm headed by former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright.
“This lawsuit seeks to restore public trust in our State’s electoral system by holding the Defendants accountable for their failures and to ensure that the list maintenance required by the law—and common sense—is performed,” the filing reads.
Tuesday’s challenge is an “amended” version of a complaint filed against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer early last month, according to a press release from AFL regarding the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs similarly alleged that Richer “ignored” his legally mandated obligation to “ensure” the removal of noncitizens from the locality’s voter rolls. A representative from Richer’s office previously told The Federalist that, while Richer had yet to be served the suit at that point, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office “prioritizes and prides itself on maintaining accurate, up-to-date voter rolls,” and “will continue to follow the letter of the law.”
Richer’s office did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment on Wednesday.
The “amended” complaint adds Arizona’s 14 other county recorders as defendants in the suit.
The entire saga seemingly began in July, when AFL sent a letter “to all 15 of Arizona’s county recorders” demanding “that the recorders immediately start using existing federal law to verify the citizenship of all of Arizona’s federal-only voters.” In Arizona, individuals who do not provide documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) when registering to vote are permitted to do so as “Federal-Only Voters” and cast ballots in federal elections. That allowance is due to a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc.
State law, however, mandates individuals provide DPOC when registering via a state voter registration form. That requirement was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Plaintiffs contest that Arizona’s 15 recorders have failed to undertake proper voter list maintenance procedures as required by law to ensure foreign nationals are removed from the rolls and the security of Arizona’s elections is upheld.
“Because it is illegal for foreign citizens to register to vote in federal elections, any foreign citizen who is registered to vote is ineligible,” the lawsuit reads. “Therefore, federal law requires County Recorders to ‘perform list maintenance’ and to engage in ‘reasonable efforts’ to ensure that foreign citizens are not registered to vote.”
Plaintiffs have requested the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona affirm existing voter list maintenance laws and require the state’s recorders to comply with them.
Strong Communities Foundati… by The Federalist
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood