Lawsuit in Arizona to Stop Foreigners from Voting in Our Elections
Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, Inc. v. Richer (Maricopa County)
On August 5, 2024, America First Legal filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County, Arizona. Its importance cannot be overstated.
In 2022, the Arizona Legislature passed a law that required stricter maintenance of Arizona’s voter rolls, but the Maricopa County Recorder, Stephen Richer, is refusing to abide by at least one of the new requirements—that he perform a monthly sweep of the voter rolls to exclude non-citizens from voting. America First Legal is suing to force him to perform his legally mandated duty. This lawsuit could affect the 2024 election, and it highlights Arizona’s unusual voting system, which should act as a template for red states as we fight to maintain our liberty.
Arizona has a bifurcated voting system. In Arizona, to register to vote in local and state elections, you must provide documentary proof of citizenship. Federal law does not require documentary proof of citizenship to vote, and the Supreme Court has held that the National Voter Registration Act does not permit states to impose registration requirements beyond those required on the federal form. However, states are still free to set their own registration requirements for voters who wish to cast ballots in state and local races. In Arizona, if you register to vote using the federal system (which, again, does not require proof of citizenship) you may only vote in primary and general elections for federal offices.
Although states cannot impose more requirements to register to vote in federal elections, states are not entirely without recourse. According to the Supreme Court, federal law “does not preclude States from denying registration based on information in their possession establishing the applicant’s ineligibility.” Nor are states prohibited from voter list maintenance procedures, “such as inquiring about the citizenship or immigration status of potentially ineligible voters on voter rolls,” the lawsuit explains. Further, states may “access information via other means to help them resolve questions about a voter registration applicant’s citizenship status.” In short, although the federal government has done its best to ludicrously loosen registration requirements, the states may nevertheless, monitor their voter rolls and take proactive steps to determine the citizenship status of voters and clean their rolls accordingly.
America First Legal’s lawsuit alleges some alarming statistics out of Arizona:
According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, as of April 2024, 35,273 registered voters in Arizona had failed to provide proof of citizenship and were, therefore, registered only to vote in federal races.
The number of Federal-Only Voters in Maricopa County increases each month.
On July 1, 2024, when Maricopa County disclosed its A.R.S. § 16-161(B) report, there were 26,108 Federal-Only Voters, increase from the 21,595 Federal-Only Voters reported by Maricopa on April 1, 2024.
This means that in just three months, the number of Federal-Only Voters increased by an astounding 21%.
It should be obvious to everyone that the open borders are meant to flood our nation with foreigners who, among other evils, will be registered to vote in our elections, providing the Left the “credit line” to steal elections from the American people.
The lawsuit filed by America First Legal against the Maricopa County Recorder seeks to force him to comply with the law by identifying the non-citizens registered to vote and purging them from the voter rolls.
This lawsuit highlights that corrupt, rogue county officials are failing to do their duty and execute the lawful mandates of state legislatures—the will of the people in action. It also acts as a reminder that other states can implement this bifurcated system to defend the vote against the feckless and deliberately subversive voting laws propagated by the federal government—“laws” whose purpose is to enable non-citizens to participate in our national civic life and steal our patrimony.
This lawsuit in Arizona needs national attention and heat from the people. It is time to demand the laws are enforced before we have lost our liberty entirely. Please make sure your friends and family are aware of the general details of this suit. The complaint provides easy to understand details, and you can read the full filing here.