As our nation approaches a contentious presidential election, Border Security A Biden-Harris administration will ensure that only American citizens vote in November.
Verifying a registrant's identity is not easy because the official federal voter registration form is Not necessary No proof of citizenship is required: instead, registrants simply need to check a box and sign a statement promising that they are citizens.
Since its establishment in 2021, America First Legal (The AFL) has been adamant in its fight. Ensuring the fairness of electionsNow states are taking additional legal action, particularly in Arizona, where the recorder in Maricopa County, by far the most populous county in the state, has abandoned his job.
The Beginning 2004Arizona previously required people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote, but in 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this was no longer necessary. held Arizona election officials cannot require additional proof of citizenship from individuals who register to vote on a federal form. This decision and other court decisions allow Arizona to enforce only a proof of citizenship requirement for voting in state and local elections. As a result, Arizona has a unique bifurcated voter registration system. Voters who fail to provide proof of citizenship can only vote in federal elections.
As of July 1st, 42,301 Among federal-only voters RegisteredTheir numbers are growing at an alarming rate, with over 7,000 new federal-only voters added to the mix. April By June, it had increased by about 20% in just three months.
In 2022, the Arizona Legislature passed the law. Requires the establishment of a county recorder. The county recorder must maintain the list monthly to identify and remove ineligible registrants who are not U.S. citizens.Use all available resources“Verify the nationality of recently registered voters,Federal databases accessible to county recorders.”
Unfortunately, flaws in each of the accessible databases meant that election officials had a hard time independently verifying the nationalities of those who registered.
Fortunately, two Federal Government The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is mandated by law to respond to requests from state and local authorities regarding an individual's immigration status “for any purpose authorized by law.”
However, Arizona county recorders did not submit requests to DHS using these two federal statutes, and were apparently unaware of their existence. I sent a letter On behalf of our client, we have explained these statutes to all 15 county recorders in Arizona and asked them to submit a request to DHS. Only two county recorders responded in the affirmative. This is unacceptable.
Everyone should have one.
Most unfortunate of all is the outgoing Maricopa County Recorder. Steven Richer (recently Lost in the primary election (and due to retire at the end of this year) No permission Submit such requests to the Department of Homeland Security to verify the citizenship of federal-only voters in Maricopa County. 63% of Arizona There are 42,301 registered federal-only voters in Maricopa County.
While Mr. Richter's refusal is disappointing, it is not surprising. Maricopa County has a history of mismanaging elections. That is why we will not be able to appoint a district attorney in February 2024. Landmark Lawsuit We filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County officials for failing to comply with state election law. The lawsuit was dismissed on a technicality. Our client is currently exploring options for re-filing the lawsuit.
August 7th, We filed a new lawsuit We are seeking a court order to compel the Maricopa County Recorder to serve. What we are asking for is for him to follow Arizona law that requires him to verify the citizenship status of prospective Arizona voters.
Recent Research 60% of Arizonans said they were concerned that fraud would affect the results of the 2024 election. How can Arizonans be confident in the fairness of their state's elections when government officials in charge of election management aren't even following the law? investigation In a survey of Arizona and five other states, more than 1% of voters said they were not U.S. citizens.
The fact that more than 42,000 registered voters in Arizona have not provided basic proof of citizenship raises questions that must be answered: Arizona law requires it, and common sense dictates it.
James Kenneth Rogers is Senior Counsel at America First Legal. He holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an LLM from the University of Cambridge.
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