Fontes now says 218,000 Arizonans affected by voter registration flaw

The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office identified an additional 120,000 voters affected by a decades-old glitch in the state’s voter registration system that was discovered in early September.

Arizona’s voter registration system pulls information from the state’s driver's license database to ensure voters provided proof of citizenship, a requirement to vote in local and state elections under Arizona law. But the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office found a flaw with the database, which incorrectly showed some people provided proof of citizenship when they applied for a driver’s license.

The issue affects some voters who got a license before Oct. 1, 1996, the day Arizona began requiring proof of legal residence to obtain a driver’s license.

Election officials initially said the problem affected around 98,000 voters. However, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes updated those numbers on Monday, saying his office has now identified a total of 218,000 voters who could be impacted by the glitch.

Fontes criticized the Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote and emphasized that all affected individuals have signed a document affirming they are citizens and can legally vote, which is a requirement to vote in federal elections.

“The reality is these registrants have met the same legal standard as every other American who registers to vote: swearing under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens,” Fontes said in a statement. “We can't risk denying actual citizens the right to vote due to an error out of their control. This issue is another example of why we need to fund elections, update systems and staff, and carry forward our proven tradition of safe, fair and secure elections.”

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that all of those voters are still eligible to vote in all elections in November.

Elections officials will then reach out to affected individuals to update their voter registration information.