An extensive database coding error within Arizona's Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) may have effected an additional 120,000 voters, as reported by the state Secretary of State’s Office yesterday. This additional number brings the total count of potentially impacted voters to roughly 218,000. The coding oversight, initially affecting nearly 98,000 people, did not properly confirm citizenship status, yet allowed access to the full ballot, according to statements obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Living in the state for decades, the voters affected by the oversight include approximately 79,000 Republicans, 61,000 Democrats, and 76,000 voters registered with other parties. Despite this large number, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has indicated that the September 20 Arizona Supreme Court ruling, which confirmed the initial group's right to vote in state and local races, should logically extend to these additional voters. As attested under penalty of law that, they are citizens, having registered long ago, the court found them exempt from blame for the system error, as reported by AZ Family.
The glitch originates from a system error that mistakenly identified individuals with driver’s licenses obtained before October 1996 as eligible to vote with a full ballot. Arizona law recognizes licenses issued post-October 1996 as valid proof of citizenship. This misclassification has allowed the affected individuals to participate in elections they may not have been eligible for normally. Election officials plan to reach out to those impacted with specific information about their status after the close of the upcoming November 5 general election.
Calling the requirement for documented proof of citizenship "an extreme law," Fontes expressed concern over the potential disenfranchisement of genuine U.S. citizens. "The reality is these registrants have met the same legal standard as every other American who registers to vote: swearing under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens. We can't risk denying actual citizens the right to vote due to an error out of their control," Fontes declared in a statement obtained by AZ Family. He added, "This issue is another example of why we need to fund elections, update systems and staff, and carry forward our proven tradition of safe, fair and secure elections."
