Lawmakers Rally County Recorders for Crucial Election Prep

By Daniel Stefanski |

Arizona Republican legislators are urging the collaboration of county election officials regarding a state law linked to elections.

Late last month, Republican state House members addressed county recorders and election officials statewide after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s initial panel allowed a law on proof of citizenship requirements for State Voter Registration forms to proceed.

The appeal, backed by Republican members of the House Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee, called on officials to “reject Arizona’s state-specific voter registration form submissions that lack documentary proof of citizenship” and to “remove foreign citizens from your voter rolls.”

The legislators emphasized the law – A.R.S. 16.121.01 (C) – noting its mandate: “Except for a form produced by the United States election assistance commission, any application for registration shall be accompanied by satisfactory evidence of citizenship as prescribed in § 16-166, subsection F, and the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall reject any application for registration that is not accompanied by satisfactory evidence of citizenship. A county recorder or other officer in charge of elections who knowingly fails to reject an application for registration as prescribed by this subsection is guilty of a class 6 felony.”

The letter highlighted the importance of the law, enacted in 2022, stating it is “critical to the integrity of Arizona’s elections.” It also mentioned that this law supersedes the 2018 Consent Decree agreed upon by the Arizona Secretary of State and the Maricopa County Recorder. Consequently, enforcing A.R.S. § 16-121.0l(C) should alleviate some administrative burdens, as officials would no longer need to search the Arizona Department of Transportation database for citizenship evidence on behalf of applicants.

However, just days after the letter was sent, another panel from the Ninth Circuit reversed the initial order, which prompted the letter to county officials.

The letter was signed by Representatives Jacqueline Parker, Alexander Kolodin, Justin Heap, Rachel Jones, and Austin Smith.

This recent decision from the Ninth Circuit is anticipated to reach the Supreme Court of the United States swiftly, seeking emergency consideration.