Conservative groups are suing Arizona’s most populous county to remove noncitizens from voter rolls — amid concerns among GOPers that illegal registration could affect the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
America First Legal filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, on Friday, alleging that he has not complied with state and federal laws in conducting a monthly review of local voter rolls and comparing that information with a database that can verify citizenship.
“America First Legal is leading the charge to keep aliens from voting in 2024,” said the group’s president, Stephen Miller, in a statement.
“Maricopa County, in direct violation of state law, refuses to remove illegal alien voters from the rolls.”
James Rogers, senior counsel for America First Legal, added, “Arizona has passed the first law in the country to help aliens not work and also ensure that aliens already on the voter rolls are removed.
“But the law has no effect if the Arizona county recorder ignores it.”
The group’s legal filing points to a Rasmussen Reports survey last month that found more than 1% of general election voters self-identified as non-citizens in Arizona — as well as at least five other battleground states.
“Many recent elections in Arizona have been decided by margins of less than 1 percent,” Rogers said. “It is reasonable for Arizonans to be concerned. This lawsuit is to help restore public confidence by ensuring that election officials follow the law and foreigners cannot influence the results of our elections.
A rep for the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Arizona is one of at least 46 states that does not require documentary proof of citizenship on federal voter registration forms, which must be provided to applicants at welfare offices, under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The forms are also provided at offices such as the state Department of Motor Vehicles .
The form only asks for a signature when asked about U.S. citizenship, under penalty of perjury.
More than half of non-citizens, 59%, take advantage of at least one major federal welfare benefit, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies.
Arizona is one of five states – along with Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Virginia – that claim to have coordinated with US Citizenship and Immigration Services through a memorandum of understanding to verify the citizenship status of voter registration applicants.
The agency uses its own identification system, including Form I-94 arrival or departure number, Student and Exchange Visitor Information System ID number, naturalization card, visa number and foreign passport number, but none of these are required on the voter registration form provided below . in NVRA.
Although it is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections, new investigations and state audits have found thousands of foreign nationals registered and hundreds ended up voting in races — including in critical swing states that could decide the 2024 election.
The America First suit was brought on behalf of the Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Maricopa County registered voter Yvonne Cahill, who has donated to former President Donald Trump and other Republican candidates in the past, according to FEC filings.
The lawsuit comes after America First sent another letter to officials in all 50 states asking them to purge voter rolls by using Department of Homeland Security data to bar non-citizens from registering to vote or voting in elections.
The GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in July that would have forced states to accept proof of citizenship before registering people to vote — but the measure won’t make it to the polls in the Democratic-led U.S. Senate.
