All 15 counties in Arizona have now begun the process of verifying and removing noncitizens from their voter rolls, including nearly 50,000 registrants who failed to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, a report noted on Saturday. “This settlement is a great result for all Arizonans,” America First Legal (AFL) senior counsel James Rogers told Fox News Digital after his organization’s successful lawsuit spearheaded the process in Arizona.
AFL filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of EZAZ.org and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen, alleging that Arizona’s 15 counties were not complying with a state law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in state and local elections, and mandating monthly checks of the voter rolls for noncitizens. As a result of the lawsuit, all 15 counties have now begun working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify the citizenship status of registered voters who failed to provide proof.
Although a 2013 Supreme Court ruling bars states from imposing additional registration requirements beyond the federal mandate that applicants affirm their citizenship by checking a box, Arizona law still requires proof of citizenship for participation in state and local elections. Arizona law also mandates that county recorders conduct monthly list maintenance to verify the U.S. citizenship status of “federal-only voters”—a group of nearly 50,000 individuals who did not provide proof of citizenship and are therefore restricted from voting in state or local elections.
Registrants confirmed to be U.S. citizens are transferred to the regular voter list, while those identified as noncitizens must have their registrations canceled. However, AFL argued in the lawsuit that county recorders had failed to use available resources to verify citizenship status, as required under Arizona law. As a result, all 15 counties have now submitted requests to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to aid in clearing noncitizens from the voter rolls.
“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.”
