Officials across Arizona’s 15 counties have begun to verify voter rolls and removing those found to be noncitizens.
According to Fox News, approximately 50,000 voter registrants did not provide proof that they are U.S. citizens and will now be removed.
America First Legal (AFL) senior counsel James Rogers spearheaded the process after his organization had filed a successful lawsuit. Rogers told Fox News Digital that the settlement was “a great result for all Arizonans.”
The lawsuit was filed against all 15 counties last year on behalf of EZAZ.org. Yvonne Cahill argued counties had not followed proper procedures and state laws that require potential voters to show proof of citizenship before they are able to register. Cahill also said the state had failed to conduct monthly checks on the roles for noncitizens.
Since then, all 15 counties have begun working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify citizenship status of voter rolls.
Fox News further reported that the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that states are prohibited from imposing voter registration requirements beyond the federal requirements that those registering must attest they are citizens. However, Arizona still requires proof of citizenship for state and local elections and further requires county recorders perform monthly maintenance to confirm citizenship.
Officials found that almost 50,000 “federal-only voters” had not provided proof of citizenship. Thos confirmed to be U.S. citizens are moved to a regular voter list, while those without proof have had they registrations cancelled.
AFL argued that County Recorders had been under utilizing their available resources to help verify citizenship status, which is also an Arizona law.
“This will help County Recorders find and remove any aliens on their voter rolls,” Rogers said. “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.”
