More than 5,600 federal-only ballots were cast in Arizona's 2020 presidential election, without the voters who cast them providing the required proof of U.S. citizenship, according to data from the state's counties.
Arizona is a state with the unusual situation of bifurcated elections, in which residents who provide proof of US citizenship can vote in all elections while others can only vote in federal elections, resulting in cast-in ballots who have not proven their US citizenship. .
Arizona law requires residents to register to vote in the state provide proof of US citizenship.
However, after the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona must accept U.S. voter registration forms because of federal requirements under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the state allows residents who register to vote without providing proof of citizenship to receive ballots for federal races. not more.
Federal voter registration forms require those filling them out to sign only an affidavit that they are citizens of the United States.
When Arizona residents register to vote or update their registration, an election system accesses their driver's license records to verify if they have proof of citizenship.
Those without documentation cannot vote in state elections and are registered as “federal only” voters. according to the Associated Press.
Last year, Arizona enacted a law this requires counties to verify the citizenship of federal-only voters against multiple databases. Counties must reject any federal application if they find the individual is not a U.S. citizen, and any official who knowingly ignores the requirement could face a felony charge.
The The Department of Justice sued Arizona on the law in July 2022, claiming it is “a textbook violation of the National Voter Registration Act.” according to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the agency's Civil Rights Division. The agency also claims the law violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Former Arizona Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Wright told Just the News on Thursday that she believes Arizona is “one of the only states that has had a bifurcated election” because the United States Election Assistance Commission did not allow the state requires driver's licenses for voter registration, although other states have the requirement.
Wright said when a person registers to vote, their name is supposed to be checked against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services SAVE database by county registrars to determine if they are not citizens.
While there is no system in place to ensure that registrars check non-citizens when registering voters, state law requires them to register only residents and certify that the voter list is correct, he added, citing. ARS 16-183 i ARS 16-169A.
If non-citizens register to vote before becoming naturalized citizens, this could make it more difficult for them to become naturalized.
In fact, according to report of the Public Interest Legal Foundation Earlier this year, the most likely reason for an alien to admit that they have registered to vote is that they “want to remain in the United States as future naturalized citizens.”
In the naturalization application process, aliens are asked if they have registered early to vote. If there are voter registration records, “immigration officials often order them to have those records expunged.” according to the report.
PILF report also found that in Maricopa County, the voter registrations of 222 aliens have been canceled since 2015, nine of whom voted 12 in four federal elections.
Below is a list of 13 of the 15 counties in Arizona that provided information to Just the News about the number of federal-only ballots cast in the 2020 and 2022 general elections and the number of registered federal-only voters in both elections.
Apache County did not provide Just the News with the requested information, despite multiple requests.
Cochise County required a public records request to obtain the information and told Just the News Wednesday that the request for federal-only ballots and voter information was no. 125 in the queue.
Despite this, according to state law“the county registrar shall notify the secretary of state and publish prominently on the registrar's website the number of persons who are registered to vote using the federal or state voter registration form and who have not provided proof of citizenship to the registrar of the county and shall, after each general election, publish on the registrar's website the number of ballots cast by those persons who were entitled to vote on a ballot containing only federal charges.
At least 5,697 federal-only votes were cast in the 2020 presidential election in Arizona, most of which came from Maricopa County. Only some of the counties specified whether all federal-only issued ballots were also accepted.
The Results of the 2020 presidential election it showed former President Donald Trump with 10,457 fewer votes than President Joe Biden in the state.
Some counties' information on federal-only registered voters comes from numbers reported to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office approximately one month before the election, which includes active and inactive voters (specified below as ” all federal only voters”). Other counties provided only federal registered voters who were active. The voters are finally moved to “idle” state. if voting materials sent to your address are returned undelivered.
Apache County:
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 162
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 97
Cochise County:
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 288
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 297
Coconino County:
- Federal-only ballots accepted and counted in 2020: 335
- Federal-only ballots accepted and counted in 2022: 116
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 2,381
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 2,841
Gila County:
- Federal-only ballots issued and accepted in 2020: 23
- Federal-only votes issued and accepted in 2022: 5
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 88
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 67
Graham County:
- Federal-only votes cast and counted in 2020: 8
- Federal-only votes cast and counted in 2022: 5
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 40
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 45
Greenlee County:
- Federal-only ballots issued in 2020 and accepted: 4
- Federal-only ballots issued in 2022 and accepted: 1
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 9
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 6
La Pau County:
- Federal-only ballots issued in 2020: 11
- Federal-only votes cast in 2022: 0
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 27
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 16
- Federal-only votes cast in 2020: 8,114, with 4,484 accepted and counted
- Federal-only votes cast in 2022: 2,749
- Registered federal-only voters in 2020: 14,298
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 27,441
Mohave County:
- Federal-only ballots issued in 2020: 257
- Federal-only votes cast in 2022: 80
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 707
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 484
Navajo County:
- Federal-only votes cast and counted in 2020: 14
- Federal-only votes cast and counted in 2022: 2
- Registered federal-only voters in 2020: 46
- Registered federal-only voters in 2022: 82
Pima County:
Pinal County:
- Federal-only ballots accepted and counted in 2020: 96
- Federal-only ballots accepted and counted in 2022: 49
- All registered federal-only voters in 2020: 1,369
- All registered federal-only voters in 2022: 1,233
Santa Cruz County:
- Federal-only ballots issued in 2020: 7
- Federal-only ballots issued in 2022: 5
- Registered federal-only voters in 2020: 30
- Registered federal-only voters in 2022: 30
Yavapai County:
- Federal-only ballots issued and accepted in 2020: 279
- Federal-only ballots issued and accepted in 2022: 63
- Registered federal-only voters in 2020: 509
- Registered federal-only voters in 2022: 226
Yuma County:
- Federal-only ballots issued in 2020: 179
- Federal-only votes cast in 2022: 53
- Registered federal-only voters in 2020: 333
- Registered federal-only voters in 2022: 403
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