The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office has asked County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to investigate 207 voters flagged as non-citizens by a federal database.
Last month, Recorder Justin Heap announced his office used the federal SAVE database to identify 137 suspected non-citizens registered to vote in Maricopa County, including 60 who have voted in past elections.
He made the announcement shortly after appearing alongside former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who visited Arizona in February to promote the Republican-backed SAVE Act and make unfounded claims about fraud in Arizona elections.
Heap’s office has since identified an additional 70 suspected non-citizens on the rolls, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Heap has now asked Mitchell to investigate those voters to determine whether they are citizens and eligible to vote. In a statement, the County Attorney’s Office said that investigation is in the early stages and declined to comment further.
“When more information is available for release, we will make that public,” according to the statement.
Reports by ProPublica and NPR have shown the federal SAVE database is prone to errors and has wrongfully identified citizens as non-citizens in the past. That’s caused concern for Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who warned Heap to ensure he is following state laws requiring him to contact affected voters before cancelling their registration.
Heap said he is following state law, though some election experts questioned whether that’s the case based on procedures he outlined in a response to Fontes.
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