Arizona has a problem with people who don’t have the necessary proof of citizenship but vote on the “full ballot,” not just the “federal ballot” during election season. This system was recently affirmed in a Supreme Court decision.
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office stated it has discovered about 97,000 registrants affected by this "administrative error” that has allowed them to vote in municipal and state elections as well as federal elections for decades, ABC15 reported.
Since Dec. 8, 2004, Arizona registrants need to provide a recognized ID issued after Oct. 1, 1996, to vote in all elections. Those who did not provide such documentation could only receive federal ballots to vote for president, senators, and representatives. But scores of voters received a “duplicate” of a driver’s license that was initially issued prior to Oct. 1, 1996, which the system read as being issued after that date. Because of this administrative mix-up, these individuals received the full ballot.
Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder, explained in a post on X: “If a driver received a license prior to 1996, he did not have a documented proof of citizenship on file. But then, if he got a duplicate license (e.g. in the case of losing a license), the issuance date would be updated in the statewide voter registration's interface with MVD [Motor Vehicle Division].”
