Arizona Man’s Surprising Tale: Unintended Voter Registration and the Mystery of Luc Leeman

PHOENIX — A long-term Arizona resident has raised alarms over his unexpected voter registration status. At 69 years old, Belgian immigrant Leemans discovered he was registered to vote after renewing his driver’s license online in 2021.

This revelation came on the heels of an alarming discovery by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. A coding error dating back two decades has resulted in the mishandling of citizenship verification for approximately 98,000 voters in the state. The oversight has primarily affected older voters, particularly those who are registered with licenses issued before 1996. Concerns mount that non-citizens may be among these individuals.

Leemans, who has resided in Arizona since the 1980s on a green card, expressed confusion upon receiving a voter identification card along with election guides for upcoming elections. He quickly reached out to election officials to clarify his status, asserting he never intended to register as a voter.

“I specified that I was a U.S. resident, not a citizen,” Leemans emphasized, reflecting his concern over receiving voter-related materials without having registered. He made several attempts to inform authorities of his situation, wanting to ensure he was not mistakenly counted among registered voters.

Former Federal Compliance Officer Tammy Patrick suggested that Leemans may have accidentally affirmed his citizenship during the license renewal process. “When you would pull up the signed form in their own handwriting, oftentimes people forget,” she stated, highlighting the importance of clarity in the registration process.

Despite Leemans’ insistence that he never checked the citizenship box, records obtained indicate otherwise. His application shows the box affirming citizenship was indeed selected, a fact that raises further questions about the integrity of the voter registration process.

In light of these events, 12News has inquired with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office about the specifics of Leemans’ situation and the broader implications of the coding error. Currently, a spokesperson has deferred comments until the investigation concludes.

Leemans remains hopeful that his situation could lead to positive changes. “If there’s any way that as a result of this, OK, there was something illegal going on? Then I’m happy that I did this,” he remarked, underscoring the need for accountability in the voter registration system.

As the investigation unfolds, both state officials and impacted voters alike are seeking answers on how such errors could occur and the potential for more non-citizens to be incorrectly registered to vote.