The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that about 98,000 people who don't have verified citizenship documents can vote in state and local elections.
Verdict Inherited The decision was made on Friday, according to the Associated Press, which said the decision was “indicated by authorities Database errors found For 20 years, it falsely provided that voters had access to every ballot.”
The report also states that these individuals already have the right to vote in federal elections regardless of the court's decision.
Database Error Highlight Fox News reported on Friday that there was an issue with voters' citizenship status. According to the outlet, the problem affects “people who obtained their driver's licenses before October 1996 and then received copies before registering to vote after 2004.”
According to an Associated Press article, Maricopa County Recorder Steven Richer (R) and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) disagreed about what status these particular voters should have.
Richer wanted to find an answer to that question, so he filed a special lawsuit in the Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday.
“It is my position that these registrants do not meet the requirements of Arizona's proof of citizenship law and therefore can only vote on a 'FED ONLY' ballot,” Richer said.
The Associated Press reported that the Republican-leaning court sided with Fontes.
The judges said county officials have no authority to change voter status because voters registered long ago and certified they were citizens, knowing that they would be punished by law. The judges also said the database errors were not the voters' fault, and noted there is little time left until the Nov. 5 general election.
The Associated Press reported that Richer and Fontes agreed with the decision.
It's worth noting that in August, 24 attorneys general were fighting for permission from the state of Arizona to require people to be U.S. citizens to vote in federal elections, Breitbart News reported.
Additionally, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) doesn't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with illegal immigrants voting, the outlet reported on September 4.
“There is no evidence that illegal immigrants vote. This is a solution in search of a problem,” he said.
But Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) Breitbart News Daily “The federal government itself [is] Under federal law, we will automatically enroll these people through Medicaid and mandatory DMV enrollment.”
