Arizona to begin removing non-citizens from voter rolls following lawsuit
Arizona has taken a significant step towards ensuring the integrity of its voter rolls by initiating the process of verifying and removing noncitizens from the list. All 15 counties in the state have undertaken this task, targeting nearly 50,000 registrants who failed to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
The legal action that kickstarted this process was spearheaded by America First Legal (AFL), with senior counsel James Rogers expressing satisfaction with the outcome. AFL filed a lawsuit against the 15 Arizona counties on behalf of EZAZ.org and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen. The lawsuit argued that the counties were not complying with a state law that mandates proof of citizenship to vote in local and state elections, as well as the requirement for monthly checks of the rolls for noncitizens.
As a result of the lawsuit, the counties are now collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify the citizenship status of all registered voters who did not provide proof of citizenship. While federal law only requires registrants to affirm their U.S. citizenship, Arizona law mandates actual proof for state and local elections.
The Arizona law further necessitates that county recorders conduct monthly list maintenance to confirm the citizenship of “federal-only voters,” individuals who did not provide proof of citizenship and were ineligible to vote in state or local elections. Those confirmed to be citizens are moved to the regular list, while noncitizens have their registration canceled.
However, AFL argued in the lawsuit that county recorders were not fully utilizing available resources to verify citizenship status, as mandated by Arizona law. Consequently, all 15 counties have reached out to DHS for assistance in clearing the voter rolls of noncitizens.
“This will help County Recorders find and remove any aliens on their voter rolls,” Rogers stated. “It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, allowing them to participate in state and local elections. AFL commends Arizona’s county recorders for taking this important step towards election integrity.”
The initiative in Arizona highlights the state’s commitment to upholding the sanctity of the voting process and ensuring that only eligible citizens have the right to cast their ballots. By rigorously verifying the citizenship status of registrants, Arizona is setting a precedent for other states to follow suit in safeguarding the integrity of their electoral systems.
