America First Legal (AFL) has secured a major victory for election integrity, with all 15 counties in Arizona now working to remove non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls. Following a settlement in a lawsuit AFL filed last year, all 15 Arizona County Recorders are now seeking assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify the citizenship status of registered voters who have not provided proof of citizenship.
AFL filed the lawsuit against the 15 counties in Arizona on September 4, 2024, on behalf of its clients, Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, known as EZAZ.org, and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen. The lawsuit stemmed from Arizona’s unique voter registration system, which, unlike almost every other state, requires documentary proof of citizenship to vote in state and local elections. The state’s groundbreaking law imposing this requirement is an important way to ensure that only eligible citizens can vote.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that in federal elections, states cannot impose additional voter registration requirements beyond what the federal voter registration form requires, which only requires registrants to check a box affirming they are citizens. Therefore, if someone registering to vote in Arizona refuses to provide proof of citizenship, the state is required to allow that person to vote in Arizona’s federal elections, unless the state discovers that the individual is an ineligible voter. However, Arizona law still requires proof of citizenship to vote in state and local elections.
Nearly 50,000 individuals have registered to vote in Arizona without providing proof of citizenship. These so-called “federal-only voters” can only vote in Arizona’s federal elections, but not in state or local elections.
