A federal judge has ruled against an Arizona group‘s legal effort to force county officials to investigate whether over 40,000 registered voters are U.S. citizens before the upcoming general election. U.S. District Judge Krissa Lanham denied a motion by Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would have compelled county recorders to verify the citizenship status of individuals registered to vote only in federal elections.
The lawsuit filed by Strong Communities focuses on Arizona’s two-tiered voter registration system. State law allows individuals who provide documented proof of citizenship to vote in all elections, while the National Voter Registration Act permits those without such proof to register for federal elections through an avowal under penalty of perjury.
Currently, around 42,000 voters are registered under this federal-only system. The lawsuit alleges that Arizona county recorders are not complying with state laws requiring them to perform “list maintenance” and ensure that ineligible voters are removed from voter rolls.
Judge Lanham determined that Strong Communities does not have standing to challenge the alleged failure of county officials in conducting citizenship checks. She stated that their request raises no more than a “generalized grievance” shared by every Arizona voter regarding elected officials following the law.
Furthermore, even if the plaintiffs had standing, their request to compel county recorders to submit citizenship verification requests to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was deemed unfeasible due to its proximity to the November 5 election.
In response, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer argued that Strong Communities’ demands were based on unfounded assumptions about noncitizens attempting voter fraud among the federal-only voters. He maintained that current verification efforts in the state were sufficient under law and highlighted a recent ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court rejecting the notion that a lack of documentation implies noncitizenship.
Strong Communities is currently evaluating Judge Lanham’s ruling according Merissa Hamilton from their group.