Overview
- On Wednesday the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office sent the Arizona Attorney General the names of 207 registered voters it flagged as possible noncitizens after using the federal SAVE database earlier this year.
- Recorder Justin Heap has said he placed flagged voters into a “Not Eligible” status and delayed cancellations to allow verification because of a prior Motor Vehicle Division coding error that affected tens of thousands of registrants.
- The Attorney General’s Office, citing state law that requires cancellation and notification if citizenship is not proven within 35 days, says Heap violated his duty and pressed him to refer the cases after months of delay.
- Heap initially sent the list to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in March and the county and state prosecutors now have parallel investigations underway with no charges announced yet.
- The dispute highlights a broader debate over the SAVE system, which news reports have found can misflag U.S. citizens, and raises questions about protecting eligible voters from wrongful removal while pursuing election-integrity checks.