PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether close to 100,000 registered voters will be able to cast a ballot in upcoming state and local elections.
A pair of lawsuits being filed Tuesday ask the justices to decide how the state and counties must deal with the fact there is no the evidence that close to 2.5% of all voters have not provided the legally required “documented proof of citizenship.” That makes them legally ineligible to vote a full ballot under the terms of a law that took effect Jan. 24, 2005.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer wants the court to declare the affected individuals will be able to vote only on federal races. That’s because federal law has no such proof-of-citizenship requirement to cast a ballot for president, Senate or House.
But Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is filing his own legal papers, saying there is no reason to believe that virtually all of these people — many of whom have been voting for years — are not actually citizens even if the paperwork is missing. He said all have signed forms swearing, under penalty of perjury, that they are eligible to cast a ballot.