Overview
- County Attorney Rachel Mitchell’s office, which confirmed the referrals, said Monday it had added 70 names to the 137 received late last week and that the probe is in its early stages.
- Recorder Justin Heap says 60 of the people on the list cast ballots in past elections, and he identified the group during a review of 61,681 records tied to a long-running Motor Vehicle Division coding error.
- The county’s screening leaned on DHS’s SAVE system, a tool that often lacks up-to-date naturalization data and has mislabeled citizens in states like Missouri and Texas when records did not reflect their latest status.
- Heap has told state officials he plans to mark flagged voters as “not eligible” unless they provide proof of citizenship, but election lawyers say state law requires direct notice and time to respond before changing an existing voter’s status.
- Heap publicized his findings as Republican figures promoted the SAVE Act in Arizona, with local outlets emphasizing different stakes from potential wrongful removals to the rarity of proven noncitizen voting found in other states.