Maricopa County’s election chief is illegally refusing to undertake required voter list maintenance procedures to ensure foreign nationals aren’t voting in Arizona elections, a lawsuit filed Monday alleges.
Brought on behalf of the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and resident Yvonne Cahill, the legal challenge argues that GOP Recorder Stephen Richer is “ignor[ing]” his legally-required duties “to ensure that foreign citizens are removed from Maricopa County’s voter rolls.” Richer — a staunch opponent of election integrity efforts in Arizona — lost his reelection bid during Arizona’s primary elections last week.
“This lawsuit seeks to restore public trust in our State’s electoral system by holding Recorder Richer accountable for his failures and to ensure that the list maintenance required by the law and common sense — is performed,” the legal filing reads.
Plaintiffs are represented by America First Legal (AFL) and a law firm headed by former Arizona Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Wright.
The issue seemingly began last month when AFL sent letters to Arizona’s 15 county recorders demanding they fulfill their statutory obligation to verify the citizenship of the state’s Federal-Only voters. In Arizona, individuals who do not provide documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) when registering to vote are permitted to do so as “Federal-Only Voters” and cast ballots in federal elections. That allowance is due to a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc.
In 2022, then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation requiring individuals to show DPOC when registering via
