KJZZ: Fontes now says 218,000 Arizonans affected by voter registration flaw

Wayne Schutsky of KJZZ reports on Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes notification that his office has identified 218,000 voters impacted by a glitch in the state’s voter registration system.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office identified an additional 120,000 voters affected by a decades-old glitch in the state’s voter registration system that was discovered in early September.

Arizona’s voter registration system pulls information from the state’s driver’s license database to ensure voters provided proof of citizenship, a requirement to vote in local and state elections under Arizona law. But the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office found a flaw with the database, which incorrectly showed some people provided proof of citizenship when they applied for a driver’s license.

The issue affects some voters who got a license before Oct. 1, 1996, the day Arizona began requiring proof of legal residence to obtain a driver’s license.

Election officials initially said the problem affected around 98,000 voters. However, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes updated those numbers on Monday, saying his office has now identified a total of 218,000 voters who could be impacted by the glitch.

Fontes criticized the Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship to vote and emphasized that all affected individuals have signed a document affirming they are citizens and can legally vote, which is a requirement to vote in federal elections.

Read more at KJZZ.