PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents have not yet been confirmed will be allowed to vote in state and local elections.
The court’s ruling comes after officials discovered an error in the database that left voters wrongly identified as having access to the full ballot for two decades.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, and Stephen Richer, the Republican clerk of Maricopa County, disagreed about what status the voters should have. Richer asked the Supreme Court to rule on the matter.
The swing state is unique in that it distinguishes between voters who may vote in federal elections only and voters who may vote in federal, state, and local elections. To qualify for the latter classification, proof of citizenship must be provided.
The court ruled that county officials do not have the authority to change their status because the voters had long ago registered and declared themselves citizens under penalty of law.
“We are not prepared to disenfranchise voters en masse in state elections based on these facts,” Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer said in the ruling. “To do so is not permitted by state law and would violate due process principles.”
