Lists of more than 200,000 Arizona voters affected by glitches must be made public

Foreign Minister Adrian Fontes has a deadline of 12 p.m. to hand over materials identifying more than 216,000 voters affected by a registration error. The Arizona Court of Appeals made the decision on Monday, hours before polls open for Tuesday's general election.

The documents center on the September discovery that hundreds of thousands of Arizona voters were allowed to vote in state and local elections despite not providing proof of citizenship, as required by a law passed by voters in 2004.

The order has no impact on this election. The state Supreme Court has ruled that every voter affected by the registration issue can vote on all issues and in all candidate races on the general election ballot. Thousands of votes have already been cast in the early voting phase.

A three-judge panel of the appeals court denied Fontes' request to stay the noon deadline, saying the clerk failed to demonstrate error in the order issued Thursday by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney.

On Thursday, Blaney ordered Fontes to turn over the documents sought in a public records request from EZAZ, a conservative activist group. Blaney limited the group to sharing pre-election records only with the 15 county clerks and the majority-Republican leaders of the Arizona Legislature.

In a comment on social media, Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said he approved receiving the names and said, “We will do everything we can to ensure our elections are conducted with integrity.”

By accepting the names, Petersen is bound by an agreement set forth in Blaney's order that the names not be released publicly.

Merissa Hamilton, chairwoman of EZAZ, said the lists will be sent electronically to county clerks. She urged them to review their voter rolls to ensure that any voter who may have been removed from office because their name was flagged for lack of proof of citizenship is restored and notified that they can vote in Tuesday's election.

In his ruling, Blaney rebuked the secretary for “inconsistent testimony” and cast a harsh light on the way the office handles public records requests.

In a brief comment, Fontes' office said they “will abide by the law.” The clerk is also asking the appeals court to initiate a special action seeking to overturn Blaney's decision on the records request. The court has not decided on this application.

Fontes has argued that releasing the names could lead to harassment and potential violence if voters' names were revealed.

Hamilton noted that Blaney found no basis for those fears and said the terms of his sentence would protect the privacy of affected voters.

“I will not share this data with anyone,” she said, except the recorders and Republican lawmakers.

Hamilton also pointed out that it is illegal to publish lists of Arizona voters.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads and on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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