America First Legal (AFL) filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County on Aug. 5, 2024 alleging Stephen Richer, Maricopa’s County Recorder has repeatedly ignored the requirement to remove foreign citizens from the county’s voter registration rolls. The AFL lawsuit is provided as a downloadable PDF below:
AFL Strong Communities v. Maricopa County II – Complaint.pdf
1.51 MB • PDF File
AFL sent legal demand letters to 15 Arizona counties on July 16 threatening action if they “do not take action to stop illegal aliens from voting” in the state. The Arizona Constitution states that only U.S. citizens can legally vote in State and federal elections. The Arizona county recorders were given until July 23 to respond. AFL’s request is excerpted in the screenshot below:
On multiple occasions, Richer has billed himself and his office as the standard bearer for trustworthy elections in Arizona. However, his message may not be resonating with Arizona voters. According to the AFL lawsuit, “Sixty percent of Arizonans are concerned that cheating will affect the outcome of the 2024 election.” The Plaintiffs in the case are a nonprofit called Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and an individual named Yvonne Cahill, a naturalized citizen and registered voter. Richer lost his primary election for county recorder to state Rep. Justin Heap on July 30.
The July 17 press release referencing the letters from AFL alleges that “as of April, 1, 2024, there were 35,273 voters in Arizona who had failed to provide proof of their citizenship and were therefore entitled to vote in federal (but not State and local) races.” The press release also explains that “Arizona law requires county recorders to perform monthly list maintenance to confirm the citizenship of federal-only registered voters.”
AFL’s letters explain there are ways to confirm the citizenship of registered voters with “two critical tools” (8 U.S.C. § 1373 and 8 U.S.C. § 1644) provided by Congress. However, removal requires conscientious county recorders who are willing to follow through. One of the tools allows recorders to submit requests to the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) about an individual’s citizenship or immigration status “for any lawful purpose,” including inquiries about citizenship.
It is unfortunate but the form produced by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), according to the AFL letter, “does not expressly require applicants to submit documentary proof of citizenship. Instead,” the letter continues, “It merely requires voter registrants to sign a form ‘under penalty of perjury,’ swearing or affirming that ‘I am a United States citizen.’” The EAC is responsible for setting the requirements for registering to vote. The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires States to “accept and use” the EAC’s form.
Both federal and state laws require diligent maintenance of voter rolls to ensure ineligible voters are removed and unable to vote. However, as True the Vote’s 611 Project explains, it is exceedingly difficult to solve the issue of non-citizen voting in U.S. elections. There is no one-size-fits-all procedure that will address the issue. It is, therefore, critical that county recorders conscientiously follow the law and follow through with the available tools to remove non-citizen voters from the rolls on a timely basis.
