The Arizona Superior Court ruled that Maricopa County must provide the names of 218,000 voters who registered to vote without proof of citizenship, Just the News reported. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes admitted that a glitch allowed for the error but was cagey about releasing a full list.
Conservative public interest group America First Legal brought the lawsuit against Fontes after he failed to furnish the list of voters affected. The organization argued that his office intentionally held back on releasing the list.
This came after a public records request was rejected, suggesting that Fontes was unwilling to share the information as required by law and necessitating further legal action. The court sided with the AFL in Thursday's ruling.
The secretary of state's office must turn over the names one day before Election Day. "Defendants shall release to Plaintiff no later than noon on Monday, November 4, 2024, any other datasets, compilation of information, lists, or communications from MVD containing personally identifying information (PII) about Affected Voters," the court said.
This case underscores an ongoing struggle for citizens who feel disenfranchised by voters on the rolls who are ineligible. James Rogers, AFL senior legal counsel, blamed Fontes for undermining trust by not doing something once he knew about the problem.
"A majority of Arizonans no longer trust the election system of our state. One of the reasons is the lack of transparency from our state’s elected officials," Rogers said in a statement following the ruling.
"When Secretary Fontes discovered the glitch that allowed 218,000 individuals to register without providing proof of citizenship, he should have immediately shared the list of affected individuals with Arizona’s county recorders, who are in charge of verifying the citizenship of voters. Instead, he has jealously guarded the list, refusing to share it with anyone," Rogers charged.
"This suit was about restoring transparency and ensuring that county recorders can do their jobs by verifying the citizenship of voters. It is unfortunate that Secretary Fontes so aggressively opposed our common-sense efforts to help restore trust in our state’s election system," Rogers added.
"This was a case we never should have needed to file," Rogers said. This glitch impacted so many registrations because the state's voting system requires proof of U.S. citizens to register to vote in Arizona elections but has no requirement for federal elections, allowing some to cast only ballots in national elections.
According to the Arizona Gazette, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer claims that despite the glitch, "the vast majority of these voters are United States citizens who can provide documented proof of citizenship." He added that citizens who lie about their eligibility are subject to perjury laws.
Still, this insistence that elections are secure and fair in the face of evidence to the contrary is what fuels suspicion. Former President Donald Trump and his supporters have been railing against this since the 2020 presidential election.
Last week, Trump pointed out that in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, fraudulent ballots were showing up, demonstrating exactly the kind of activity that could sway an election. NBC News reported his remarks but downplayed the significance of the fraud.
"Really bad 'stuff.' WHAT IS GOING ON IN PENNSYLVANIA??? Law Enforcement must do their job, immediately!!! WOW!!!" Trump posted to his Truth Social.
The voting system needs a serious overhaul, but there's no appetite for it from the leftists who likely benefit. These ineligible people in Arizona and elsewhere should not be casting ballots in American elections.
