Arizona Supreme Court rules voters caught in proof-of-citizenship glitch can still get ‘full ballot,’ including state races

By Marshall Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that nearly 100,000 residents who may not have fulfilled the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirements can still vote in state and local races this year, quickly resolving how election officials should address a clerical glitch that had left in question the eligibility of those registered voters in the critical battleground state.

The court was asked to decide whether these voters should get a “federal-only” ballot or the “full ballot,” which would also include state and local races. Regardless of the outcome, these voters would have been able to cast presidential ballots.

Arizona uses these separate ballots because the state requires all voters to prove their citizenship before they can vote in state and local races. Such documentation isn’t required to cast ballots for federal office in Arizona.

The decision to let these roughly 98,000 voters use the full ballot is a victory for Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, and liberal groups that pushed for this outcome.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled just three days after the lawsuit was filed. Election officials hoped a quick resolution of the issue would reduce confusion heading into voting season.

Besides state and local races, the ruling could also affect Arizona’s referendum on abortion rights this fall.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against Fontes, arguing that the nearly 98,000 voters should receive the federal-only ballot. But Richer had said his bigger priority was getting speedy clarity from the courts.

“Thank God,” Richer posted on social media in response to Friday’s ruling. “Thank you Arizona Supreme Court for your extremely quick and professional review of this matter.”

In a show of bipartisanship, Richer and Fontes thanked each other for collaboratively tackling the unexpected pre-election issue. Fontes said election officials would work to fix the clerical error after the election, including outreach to the affected voters asking them to update their citizenship records.

“Today marks a significant victory for those whose fundamental right to vote was under scrutiny,” Fontes said. “The court faced a stark choice: to allow voters to participate in just a few federal races on a limited ballot, or to make their voices heard across hundreds of decisions on a full ballot that includes a variety of local and state offices. We deeply appreciate the Arizona Supreme Court for their prompt and just resolution.”

Arizona officials previously said a glitch miscategorized nearly 98,000 people in the state’s voter rolls as having provided proof of citizenship – even though there is no record of that happening. Those voters got their driver’s license before 1996, which is the year Arizona started requiring residents to prove their citizenship to obtain a license.

Former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have raised baseless claims that massive numbers of noncitizens have voted in US elections, and Trump used this case to continue his yearslong pattern of using routine mishaps and errors in the voting process to allege widespread fraud. Nonpartisan experts say illegal voting by noncitizens is extremely rare and is quickly caught.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.

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