A group with ties to Republican interests has filed what is likely the first in a series of lawsuits against county officials for failing to verify and remove noncitizen voter rolls.

America First Legal, formed by former advisers to Donald Trump, claims that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer is seeking to find out if anyone is among the more than 26,000 people who have registered to vote. They are violating state and federal law by failing to use the tools at their disposal. People using federal forms are not eligible to vote.

Attorney James Rogers said federal law does not allow individuals to register using that federal form without providing the same “documented proof of citizenship” that they are required to provide on state forms. , and acknowledged that those using federal forms are only allowed to vote for president and members of Congress.

But Rogers told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Viola that Richer will use “all available resources” to investigate whether any of the people who signed the federal form are noncitizens. They are asking that the state should not decide who gets the state’s 11 electors. It asks the judge to instruct Richer to forward the names of everyone on the federal-only voter list to Attorney General Chris Mays so he can conduct an independent investigation.

This comes after Mr Rogers sent a letter to Mr Richer last month threatening legal action if these steps were not taken. Richer responded that his office complies with the law.

But Richer wasn’t the only one to receive the letter.

Similar requests were made to recorders in all 15 counties.

Some, like Pima County Recorder Gabriela Cazares-Kelly, responded that they believed they were already acting legally. Others, like David Stevens of Cochise County, responded by sending a list of “issues” on the issue obtained from the Secretary of State’s Office.

But so far, America First Legal has only sued Richer.

There was no immediate comment from the organization on why he was chosen or whether similar lawsuits will follow. But new legal documents clearly show why they were unhappy with Richer.

For example, Maricopa County claims it already complies with applicable state and federal laws related to voter registration.

“This allegation is false,” Rogers said, as well as Richer’s claim that he does not have the authority to ask the Department of Homeland Security to verify the names of people on federal-only lists. He said it was “false”.

And Richer’s mistake was not to send Mays all the names on that list, Rogers said.

The lawsuit seeks to order Viola to do what it says it is legally required to do.

Richer’s office said in a prepared statement that it could not comment on the lawsuit because it had not yet been served. But it called into question the underlying claim that Richer was not doing his job.

“The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office prioritizes and takes pride in maintaining an accurate and up-to-date voter rolls,” the statement said.

“Under Recorder Stephen Richer, maintaining the voter register remains a top priority, with more than 400,000 voters removed from the register since January 2021. As an executive authority, we continue to uphold the law. We will continue to follow the letter,” the newspaper said. ‘

Rogers acknowledged there are limits to what the county recorder can do. There are also federal court decisions that limit the ability of recorders who use federal forms but do not provide proof of citizenship to refuse to register for federal elections.

But Rogers said all of them would make it illegal for noncitizens to vote and require counties to follow “voter list maintenance procedures,” including checking the citizenship and immigration status of potentially ineligible voters. It is argued that it does not invalidate the law.

Richer said in a text that his office is working “very diligently” on maintaining the voter rolls.

He said neither he nor anyone in his office has spoken to American First Legal, but noted that another Maricopa County attorney’s office has had conversations with the group.

“It’s almost as if it’s important to file a lawsuit against Maricopa County, make a fuss, and then a few months later make no statement that you lost. Wash, rinse, repeat. We’ve seen this over and over again. Name one lawsuit won by AZ Free Enterprise Club, Safe Communities, We The People, etc.,” Richer said in a text.

America First Legal offered no evidence that the more than 35,000 people who registered statewide using federal forms were not eligible to vote. And Aaron Tucker, assistant press secretary to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, said that some people who registered to vote and signed an affidavit under penalty of perjury were not actually allowed to vote. He questioned the assumption that there would be a large number of people. .

“The federal-only ballot is made up of groups such as Native Americans, college students, and senior citizens, who may not have easy access to documents that prove their citizenship,” Tucker said. said.

But Stephen Miller, president of America First Legal, took a different view, saying the group is “leading the way to prevent illegal aliens from voting in 2024.”

“Maricopa County is refusing to remove illegal alien voters from its rolls in direct violation of state law,” he said in a prepared statement.

Mr. Rogers’ own statement also did not mention numbers. But he says it’s at least a matter of perception.

“A recent survey found that 60% of Arizonans are concerned that fraud will affect the outcome of the 2024 election,” he said.

He also pointed to another Rasmussen study in Arizona and five other battleground states that found that more than 1% of people who said they were likely to vote actually said they were likely to vote. He claims to have acknowledged that he is not a citizen.

“Many of Arizona’s recent elections were decided by less than 1 percentage point,” Rogers said.

“Arizonas are right to be concerned,” he said, adding that the lawsuit against Richer “is a testament to the public’s trust in ensuring that election officials abide by the law and that foreign nationals cannot influence election results.” The aim is to restore the election. ”

Although Mr. Miller and Mr. Rogers discuss non-citizen voting, American First Legal is not the actual plaintiff in the case. Instead, something called the Arizona Strong Community Foundation lists itself as a nonprofit charity.