Arizona says another 120,000 residents could be affected by voter registration system error

PHOENIX — Arizona’s top elections official said Monday another 120,000 residents could be affected by a voter registration system error that forced swift legal action less than two months before the election.

The total number of Arizona residents that could be affected is 218,000, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said in a press release. The issue stemmed from a 2004 state law for those who got their Arizona driver’s license before the mid-1990s.

Fontes added that all residents affected by the error will receive full ballots for the Nov. 5 elections. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on the matter, which at the time affected 98,000 voters, on Sept. 20.

“All agencies continue to work together in real time to resolve this matter,” according to the press release. “The Arizona voter registration database now has the correctly flagged the impacted individuals as needing proof of citizenship.”

What is the Arizona voter registration system error?

Since Oct. 1, 1996, Arizonans have had to provide valid proof of citizenship to get a driver’s license. Therefore, the licenses have been accepted as proof of citizenship for voter registration.

However, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office recently discovered a glitch in the interface between the state’s voter registration database and the Motor Vehicle Division.

The MVD has not been flagging voters who originally got their licenses before the 1996 cutoff and also were issued duplicates at some point afterward, meaning those voters have not supplied the state with proof of citizenship. In those cases, the system was erroneously showing the date of the duplicate as the license issuance date, leading elections officials to incorrectly believe the MVD had proof of citizenship on record.

It does not necessarily mean those voters are not citizens, it just means they haven’t provided the documentation as required under state law.

The law requires voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering to be eligible to participate in state elections. Arizonans who haven’t provided documentary proof but attest to their citizenship can vote, but only in federal races, per U.S. law.

Of the 218,000 that could be affected, 79,000 are Republicans, 76,000 don’t have a party affiliation and 61,000 are Democrats, according to Fontes.

How did officials discover the registration glitch?

The error was uncovered after the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office received information about a man who was registered to vote but wasn’t a U.S. citizen. His voter file erroneously indicated that the MVD had his proof of citizenship on record.

Recorder Stephen Richer notified Gov. Katie Hobbs on Sept. 7. Hobbs’ office worked with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office to investigate the case, and they figured out the duplicate license date glitch.

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