All 15 of Arizona’s counties agreed to settle a lawsuit brought last September by America First Legal (AFL) and election attorney Jennifer Wright against their recorders over failing to remove noncitizens from voter rolls. Maricopa County agreed to the settlement earlier this month, Yavapai and Mohave counties settled in November, and the remaining counties settled last Wednesday, sending requests to the Department of Homeland Security to assist them in verifying voters’ citizenship. In January, there were 50,000 federal-only voters on the state’s voter rolls, which are voters who are only allowed to vote in federal races due to failing to produce documented proof of citizenship (DPOC).
“This settlement is a great result for all Arizonans,” AFL Senior Counsel James Rogers said in a statement on Monday. “This will help County Recorders find and remove any aliens on their voter rolls. It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, which would allow them to vote in State and local elections. AFL congratulates each of Arizona’s 15 County Recorders for taking this bold and important step for election integrity in the State.”
Kari Lake posted on X, “It’s a pyrrhic victory knowing Arizona had to be sued into submission before agreeing to follow the law, & take upwards of 50K illegal voters off its rolls. I’m happy to see our elections getting fixed, but I want people held responsible for breaking them.”
AFL initially sent letters to the counties last July asking them to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls and threatened a lawsuit if they did not. The group, which represented Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, which is run by grassroots activist Merissa Hamilton, pointed out that two federal laws, 8 U.S.C. § 1373(c) and 8 U.S.C. § 1644, authorize state and local officials to obtain information on citizenship or immigration status from the federal government.
Many of the 50,000 individuals got onto the voter rolls without showing DPOC because the courts have interpreted the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to allow them to register to vote in federal elections without it. However, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, who was appointed to the bench by President Donald Trump, said in a dissent to a recent case striking down two Arizona laws regarding removing noncitizens from the voter rolls due to allegedly violating the NVRA that the NVRA doesn’t have authority over the state’s elections. He said “the Constitution doesn’t grant Congress the power to regulate who may vote in presidential elections.”
Some mainstream media outlets were quick to point out that there is no evidence that the 50,000 federal-only voters are noncitizens. However, they offered no explanation or evidence to indicate why these individuals would have refused to provide DPOC, knowing that not doing so would limit their voting to only federal races. This doesn’t include another 200,000 voters who failed to provide DPOC due to a glitch in the Motor Vehicle Division’s voter registration service, and were allowed to vote in state and local elections too. The recorders will be resolving those as well.
X owner and Trump’s DOGE leader Elon Musk, who is highly influential in the Trump administration and posts fairly often about his objections to noncitizens voting, commented about the lawsuit last September. Including a post from AFL about the lawsuit, he said, “They are refusing to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls.”
Former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, an election fraud denier, responded to Musk with a lengthy post labeling the lawsuit “PR stunts that masquerade as lawsuits.” He incorrectly predicted, “This lawsuit by AFPI will lose. Just like every lawsuit (50+) that has been filed against my office since I took office. Again, because it’s remarkable, we have NOT LOST A SINGLE LAWSUIT.”
Last July, Musk labeled those who oppose a proposed congressional law to prohibit noncitizens from voting as “traitors.” He posted on X, referring to the SAVE Act, “Those who oppose this are traitors. All Caps: TRAITORS What is the penalty for traitors again?”
Trump issued an executive order on election integrity calling for DPOC in order to vote, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act last week, which would also require it.
AFL stated in its brief last fall that margins of less than 1 percent have decided recent races in Arizona. A study from 2014 published at Old Dominion University found that enough noncitizens vote “to change important election outcomes, including “Electoral College votes and Senate races.” Trump lost Arizona to Joe Biden in 2020 by 10,457 votes. An increasing number of illegal immigrants were expected to vote for Democrats in the 2024 election.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to .
The post Lawsuit Forces All 15 Arizona Counties to Begin Removing Noncitizens from Voter Rolls first appeared on The Arizona Sun Times.