State election officials in Arizona have identified an additional 120,000 voters who are improperly registered due to an error in the state’s driver’s license database, bringing the total affected to 218,000. This number could increase as officials continue to discover more voters who were not required to provide proof of citizenship when they registered.
The issue, uncovered two weeks ago, stems from a glitch in the Motor Vehicles Division (MVD) system. Around 98,000 voters who registered in the past 20 years were incorrectly marked as having provided proof of citizenship. On Monday, the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office revealed that another 120,000 voters, many of whom have lived and voted in Arizona for decades, were also affected by a “data coding oversight” in the system.
These voters, all of whom have affirmed their U.S. citizenship, include 79,000 Republicans, 61,000 Democrats, and 76,000 listed as “other party,” according to state officials. Under Arizona law, passed in 2004, individuals who cannot provide proof of citizenship can only vote in federal elections.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes clarified that the affected voters had been “mistakenly marked as having provided documentary proof of citizenship,” and that efforts are underway to resolve the issue.