A judge has ruled that Arizona must disclose a list of registered voters affected by a coding glitch that prevented the verification of their citizenship status. Secretary of State Adrian Fontes had initially resisted releasing the list, citing concerns about potential harassment of the individuals included. However, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott A. Blaney ordered Fontes to provide the list to the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, also known as EZAZ.org, a conservative watchdog group that filed a public records lawsuit to obtain the data.
The lawsuit, filed by America First Legal (AFL) on behalf of EZAZ.org, aimed to restore transparency and ensure county recorders can verify voter citizenship status. The list in question contains up to 218,000 voters who did not provide proof of citizenship due to a flaw in the data systems managed by Arizona’s Motor Vehicles Division and the secretary of state’s office.
According to a press release from Fontes’s office, the coding error impacted voters from various political affiliations, including around 79,000 Republicans, 61,000 Democrats, and 76,000 individuals affiliated with other parties. Despite swearing under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens, these voters were mistakenly marked as having provided citizenship documentation.
Fontes was ordered to release the list to EZAZ.org by Nov. 4, with restrictions on how the information could be handled. The watchdog group was prohibited from contacting individuals on the list until Nov. 6 or sharing personally identifiable information with third parties, except for Arizona county recorders, legislative leaders, and members of the House and Senate Elections Committees.
Fontes argued that releasing the list could expose voters to potential harassment, but the judge emphasized that Arizona public records law favors disclosure unless there is a clear threat to state interests or individual privacy. The judge also dismissed expert testimony on election-related threats as speculative and politically biased.
Fontes’s office stated that the affected voters remain eligible to vote in all races for the 2024 general election and that election officials would address their citizenship status after the election if necessary. The Arizona Supreme Court also upheld Fontes’s guidance that these individuals should retain full-ballot eligibility for the election.
