Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Voter Rights Amid Database Error

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that nearly 98,000 voters with unconfirmed citizenship documents can vote in state and local races. This decision comes after uncovering a database error that misclassified these voters. Both Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer supported the ruling.

The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Friday that almost 98,000 people, whose citizenship documents hadn't been confirmed, can vote in state and local races. This landmark decision could significantly influence ballot measures and tight legislative races.

The court's decision followed the discovery of a database error that had erroneously designated these voters as having access to the full ballot for the past two decades. These voters were already eligible to vote in federal races, such as presidential and congressional elections, regardless of the court's ruling.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County recorder, had differing views on the voters' status. Richer appealed to the high court, arguing that Fontes ignored state law by advising county officials to allow affected voters to cast full ballots. Fontes contended that denying these voters, who believed they had met voting requirements, access to the full ballot would violate equal protection and due process.

(With inputs from agencies.)