The Arizona Superior Court ruled Thursday that Maricopa County must provide a conservative watchdog group with a list of noncitizens currently registered to vote.
America First Legal (AFL) filed the lawsuit in August.
The high court’s order states, “As the court advised the parties before and during the hearing, the question for the court to decide is that the records requested by the plaintiff must be released pursuant to Arizona’s public records law.” The question is whether it will happen or not.” “Despite the political undertones, this is just a public record case.”
During an evidentiary hearing, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes testified that a system error affected about 218,000 registered voters, court documents said.
Illegal immigrant voter list monitoring group sues Maricopa County
Voters cast their ballots during Michigan’s early voting period on October 29, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan. Early voting turnout was high in Michigan, a key battleground state with 14 electoral votes, with more than 250,000 people voting early in the first two days alone. (Photo by Bill Priano/Getty Images) (Bill Priano/Getty Images)
The order acknowledged that Mr. Fontes had a partial list of about 98,000 voters whose citizenship documents had not been verified, but a complete list of all 218,000 affected voters. He points out that he said that it does not exist. Fontes blamed “hasty drafting” and unclear wording for the government’s press release, which referred to a complete list. He also claimed that the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) had not provided him with a list containing personal information of additional voters who may lack sufficient documentation.
However, the court concluded that his testimony was contradictory. Fontes initially denied having a list of 98,000 voters before amending his statement.
“His testimony suggested that he lacked detailed knowledge of AZSOS.” [Arizona Secretary of State] “We have endeavored to address this matter and the records relating to 218,000 individuals held by AZSOS,” court documents state.
Additionally, the order condemns the Arizona Department of State’s submission of University of Chicago political science professor Robert Pape as an expert witness.
Vance says president-elect must put Americans first in Arizona speech, slams FEMA money for immigrants
The court said it gave minimal weight to his testimony and report. Much of Pape’s testimony focused on national trends in political violence and lacked specific analysis related to Arizona, according to court documents.
During cross-examination, Purp admitted that he had not conducted any research related to the state. His claims that releasing the requested information could lead to violence or harassment were largely speculative and based solely on national statistics, court documents said.
The High Court concluded that “the credibility of Professor Pape’s testimony and report was further diminished by what appeared to be unwarranted political bias in his report and testimony.” “The professor’s opinions on political violence in general focus almost entirely on allegations of past and anticipated future violence from one side of the political spectrum, and only on former President Donald Trump. It was related.”
Mr Fontes and Mr Pape “argued that providing the list of 218,000 voters to AFL clients would expose these people to the risk of harassment and violence.”
FOX News Power Rankings: Voter Engagement, Voting Efficiency, and Small Housekeeping
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes speaks at an event in Tucson, Arizona, USA, April 12, 2024, following the Arizona High Court’s Tuesday ruling upholding a 160-year abortion ban. Reuters/Rebecca Noble (Reuters/Rebecca Noble)
“However, the only evidence they presented concerned political violence related to the election, most of which was general intimidation of elected officials,” court documents state. “They were unable to identify any specific threats of violence or harassment.”
The decision comes after the AFL filed a lawsuit in August on behalf of the Arizona nonprofit Strong Communities Foundation and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized Maricopa County resident.
AFL previously gave Maricopa County It will take a week to deal with alleged non-citizens on the voter rolls.
According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, the lawsuit alleges that as of April 2024, more than 35,000 registered voters in Arizona have not provided proof of citizenship and are limited to voting in federal elections. It is claimed that it has been done.
The complaint alleges the following: Arizona Voter Registration System A divide arises between those who submit proof of citizenship (DPOC) and those who do not. Arizona law requires DPOC for state and local elections, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal voter registration forms do not require this requirement. As a result, Arizona has a bifurcated system in which voters using the federal form (known as federal-only voters) are restricted to voting only in federal elections.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said through his attorney that he would not take any action “particularly due to concerns for voter safety and concerns about the accuracy of the rolls,” and that his office has already launched an investigation. He claimed to have started. Comply with the law; Arizona Superior Court documents read:
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
On September 26, the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona was notified through the Secretary of State’s portal that its public records request (PRR) had been “closed.” A note added to the file indicates a response was published on September 23, and the organization concluded that the PRR was rejected.
The high court’s Thursday order said: “The court finds that the letter dated September 24, 2024, and the NextRequest closure of the file with the caption ‘Our response has been published’, together amount to a denial of the PRR. I specifically recognized it.”
Fontes told Fox News Digital that the department is “considering all legal options.”
