Arizona’s Democrat elections chief is illegally withholding the identities of approximately 218,000 registered voters on the state’s voter rolls who lack documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC), a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges.
Brought by the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona (SCFA) against Democrat Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and the Arizona Department of State, the legal challenge “seeks to restore public trust in [Arionza’s] electoral system by ensuring transparency about the Defendants’ failures to ensure that registered voters have provided DPOC, as required by law.” The group is represented by America First Legal and a law firm spearheaded by former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright.
The lawsuit addresses an issue that first came to light last month, in which Arizona election officials announced they discovered approximately 98,000 registered “full-ballot” voters who have not provided documentary proof of citizenship required to participate in state and local elections. The error appears to have resulted “from the way the Motor Vehicle Division provides driver’s license information to the state’s voter registration system,” according to Votebeat Arizona.
Fontes said most of the affected voters are registered Republicans, according to the outlet.
In Arizona, voters registering via state registration form must show DPOC to vote in state and local races. Individuals who are unable to provide such documentation are registered as “federal-only” voters and can only cast ballots in federal races.
After the initial discovery, Fontes held a Sept. 10 phone call with Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes, both Democrats, according to audio obtained by
